BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Stock Price Up 0.4% After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) shares traded up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Monday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $778.22 and last traded at $766.10. 272,115 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 56% from the average session volume of 617,840 shares. The stock had previously closed at $763.40.

The asset manager reported $9.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $9.42 by $0.39. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.34% and a net margin of 32.26%. The firm had revenue of $4.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $7.93 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,013.00 to $1,025.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen raised BlackRock from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $819.00 to $938.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. UBS Group boosted their price target on BlackRock from $818.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $930.00 price target (up from $918.00) on shares of BlackRock in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on BlackRock from $742.00 to $767.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $811.43.

Insider Activity

In other BlackRock news, Director Rachel Lord sold 36,059 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $818.06, for a total value of $29,498,425.54. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,004 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,910,292.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other BlackRock news, Director Rachel Lord sold 36,059 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $818.06, for a total value of $29,498,425.54. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,004 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,910,292.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Marc D. Comerchero sold 450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $785.11, for a total value of $353,299.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,975 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,691,032.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 100,511 shares of company stock valued at $71,864,028. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackRock

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BLK. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the first quarter worth about $115,000. United Bank boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 17.1% in the first quarter. United Bank now owns 1,287 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $983,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in BlackRock by 2.6% during the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,978 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,512,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in BlackRock by 35.4% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,025 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $783,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in BlackRock by 11.7% during the first quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,452 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,110,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 3.48, a current ratio of 3.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $113.64 billion, a PE ratio of 19.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $808.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $754.48.

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.