Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Stock

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has raised its price target for BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) from $1,362 to $1,486, indicating a potential upside of 24.54% from the current price.
• Despite strong quarterly revenue growth of 25.2% year-over-year, BlackRock's earnings per share (EPS) of $11.55 fell short of analyst expectations.
• As of now, BlackRock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with 15 analysts issuing a Buy rating and three a Hold rating.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $1,362.00 to $1,486.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the asset manager's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target points to a potential upside of 24.54% from the stock's current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Zacks Research cut BlackRock from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Citigroup upped their price target on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on BlackRock from $1,160.00 to $1,265.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,325.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on BlackRock from $1,093.00 to $1,242.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,279.19.

BlackRock Stock Up 3.3%

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $1,193.23 on Wednesday. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $1,137.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,038.10. The company has a market cap of $184.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 4.04, a current ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $773.74 and a 12-month high of $1,209.82.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The asset manager reported $11.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.78 by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $6.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.22 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 29.68%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 25.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $11.46 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BlackRock news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 12,054 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,125.43, for a total transaction of $13,565,933.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 251,697 shares in the company, valued at $283,267,354.71. This trade represents a 4.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,120.50, for a total value of $19,207,611.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 61,369 shares in the company, valued at $68,763,964.50. The trade was 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 worth $74,694,573 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 450.0% in the third quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 22 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 200.0% in the second quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 27 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Traub Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the second quarter worth $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its stake in BlackRock by 107.1% in the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 29 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its stake in BlackRock by 76.5% in the first quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

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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