BMO Capital Markets Begins Coverage on BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Key Points

• BMO Capital Markets has initiated coverage on BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) with an "outperform" rating and a price target of $1,280, suggesting a potential upside of 10.32% from its last closing price.
• The consensus rating for BlackRock is a "Moderate Buy", with thirteen analysts assigning a Buy rating and a consensus price target of $1,200.53.
• In recent insider trading, BlackRock Directors Rachel Lord and J. Richard Kushel sold significant shares, reducing their ownership positions by 48.43% and 21.83% respectively.

Research analysts at BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm set an "outperform" rating and a $1,280.00 price target on the asset manager's stock. BMO Capital Markets' target price indicates a potential upside of 10.32% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on BLK. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $980.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $1,115.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Zacks Research cut shares of BlackRock from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Bank of America increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,224.00 to $1,396.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,200.53.

BlackRock Price Performance

BLK opened at $1,160.23 on Friday. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $773.74 and a 12-month high of $1,183.50. The company has a quick ratio of 4.04, a current ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.05, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $1,128.92 and a 200-day moving average of $1,026.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.41 by $1.64. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 29.68%.The firm had revenue of $5.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $10.36 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BlackRock news, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,125.60, for a total transaction of $20,301,321.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 19,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,617,148. This represents a 48.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,120.50, for a total transaction of $19,207,611.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 61,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,763,964.50. This represents a 21.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BLK. Garde Capital Inc. increased its position in BlackRock by 200.0% in the 2nd quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 27 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Traub Capital Management LLC bought a new position in BlackRock during the second quarter worth $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its stake in BlackRock by 107.1% during the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 29 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 76.5% in the 1st quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Finally, Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in BlackRock by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Company Profile

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.

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