Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Stock Price

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by Morgan Stanley from $1,111.00 to $1,164.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the asset manager's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective suggests a potential upside of 9.78% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on BLK. Bank of America cut their price target on BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,105.15.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BLK stock traded up $6.02 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $1,060.29. 103,229 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 691,507. BlackRock has a 12 month low of $773.74 and a 12 month high of $1,084.22. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $164.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $969.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $968.68.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.47 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 30.09% and a return on equity of 15.57%. BlackRock's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.81 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 66,034 shares of the company's stock, valued at $60,256,025. The trade was a 13.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 76.5% in the first quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 100.0% during the first quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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