BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Barclays Analyst Says

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by equities researchers at Barclays from $990.00 to $1,220.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the asset manager's stock. Barclays's price target points to a potential upside of 10.71% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen raised BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $1,115.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,126.31.

BlackRock Price Performance

BLK traded up $13.22 on Thursday, reaching $1,101.97. The stock had a trading volume of 156,992 shares, compared to its average volume of 788,319. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $773.74 and a fifty-two week high of $1,105.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $989.46 and a 200-day moving average of $970.84. The company has a current ratio of 4.34, a quick ratio of 4.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market capitalization of $170.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.41.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.84 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.47 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 30.09% and a return on equity of 15.57%. The business's revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $9.81 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $912.50, for a total value of $9,125,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 66,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,256,025. This trade represents a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of BlackRock

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Polar Capital Holdings Plc acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at about $15,307,000. Community Financial Services Group LLC lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 17.2% in the first quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 5,702 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $5,397,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares during the period. Kennedy Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 1st quarter worth $568,000. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter valued at $578,000. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 17,057 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $16,144,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company's stock.

About BlackRock

BlackRock, Inc is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to institutional, intermediary, and individual investors including corporate, public, union, and industry pension plans, insurance companies, third-party mutual funds, endowments, public institutions, governments, foundations, charities, sovereign wealth funds, corporations, official institutions, and banks.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.