BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: Twenty analysts rate BlackRock an average of "Moderate Buy" (15 buy, 4 hold, 1 strong buy) with a mean 12‑month price target of about $1,269.06.
• Recent results: BlackRock beat Q1 estimates with EPS of $12.53 (vs. $12.40 expected) and revenue of $6.70B (vs. $6.56B), with revenue up 27% year‑over‑year.
• Near‑term sentiment risks: Significant insider selling (106,911 shares, ~$114.7M sold last quarter) and ~ $167M outflows from BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF may pressure short‑term sentiment and fee revenue.

Shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the twenty research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fifteen have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $1,269.0556.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,351.00 to $1,199.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,290.00 to $1,310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,181.00 to $1,313.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,220.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised BlackRock from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd.

Key Stories Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rick Rieder (BlackRock’s CIO of global fixed income) told Barron’s Live he sees the U.S. economy as resilient and expressed a bullish view on stocks — a positive sentiment signal that can support investor appetite for BlackRock’s asset management products. Why BlackRock’s Rick Rieder Thinks the U.S. Economy Is Basically Recession-Proof
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock is flagging a “beyond AI” thematic rotation into utilities/infrastructure (HALO sectors) as part of its model trades — this guidance can influence portfolio flows and ETF positioning. BlackRock Just Flagged 'Beyond' AI Trade
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s iShares AI ETF has shown strong past returns (91% last year), highlighting the firm’s product-level success that can attract continued flows into iShares strategies. iShares’ AI ETF Returned 91% Last Year
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage noting Boston’s continued prominence as a money‑management hub underscores industry concentration and talent/firm clustering but is unlikely to move BLK shares directly. Not So Fast, Texas. This City Manages Far More Money—and It’s Not New York.
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry peers (Blue Owl, Federated Hermes) reported solid AUM and revenue trends — a constructive backdrop for asset managers broadly but not an immediate BLK-specific catalyst. OWL Q1 Earnings Meet on Revenue & AUM Growth Federated Hermes Q1 Earnings Beat
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock executives (Rob Goldstein) warned certain “convenience‑layer” SaaS firms face structural disruption from generative AI — important for asset allocation views but not an immediate earnings driver for BLK. Rob Goldstein: ‘Convenience‑Layer’ SaaS Companies Are ‘In Trouble’ From AI
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory/portfolio filings: disclosure that BlackRock’s stake in Fagron crossed below a 3% threshold—routine transparency event with limited market impact. Disclosure of transparency notification
• Negative Sentiment: Outflows from Bitcoin ETFs after the Fed decision hit IBIT (~$167M outflow over the period), a direct negative for BlackRock’s crypto‑ETF AUM and associated fee revenue in the near term. Bitcoin ETFs Lose Nearly Half A Billion Dollars
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares (~$35.6M) and President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares recently — sizable disclosed sales that can weigh on near‑term sentiment about insider conviction. Fink Form 4 Kapito Form 4

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Stephen Cohen sold 225 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,069.56, for a total value of $240,651.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,054,779.16. This trade represents a 3.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 385 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,084.91, for a total value of $417,690.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,618,174.85. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 106,911 shares of company stock valued at $114,670,698 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.92% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackRock

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 866.7% in the third quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 29 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Birchbrook Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $1,064.31 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $165.54 billion, a PE ratio of 26.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.44. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $906.57 and a 1 year high of $1,219.94. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $1,007.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,059.38. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $12.40 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.56 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.40% and a return on equity of 14.96%. BlackRock's revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $9.64 earnings per share. Analysts expect that BlackRock will post 52.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About BlackRock

BlackRock, Inc is a global investment management firm that provides a broad range of products and services to institutional, intermediary and individual investors. Its core activities include portfolio management across active and index strategies, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) under the iShares brand, fixed income, equity and multi-asset solutions, as well as alternatives such as private equity, real estate and infrastructure. The firm also offers cash management and liquidity solutions and retirement-focused products designed for defined contribution and defined benefit investors.

In addition to traditional investment management, BlackRock is known for its technology and risk management capabilities, most prominently its Aladdin platform, which combines portfolio management, trading and risk analytics and is used both internally and licensed to external clients.

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