The Goldman Sachs Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Stock

Key Points

• The Goldman Sachs Group has increased its target price for BlackRock stock from $1,163.00 to $1,312.00, indicating a potential upside of 12.46% from its current price.
• BlackRock reported earnings of $12.05 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and reflecting a revenue increase of 12.9% year-over-year.
• Analyst ratings for BlackRock show strong support with thirteen analysts giving a Buy rating and a consensus price target of $1,213.67.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $1,163.00 to $1,312.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the asset manager's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's target price indicates a potential upside of 12.46% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research cut BlackRock from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Barclays raised their price target on BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $980.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,213.67.

BlackRock Price Performance

NYSE:BLK opened at $1,166.67 on Friday. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $773.74 and a 12-month high of $1,183.50. The firm has a market cap of $180.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.45. The company's 50-day moving average is $1,128.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,026.28. The company has a current ratio of 4.04, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the business'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 transaction, the director directly owned 19,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,617,148. The trade was a 48.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 14,828 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,122.28, for a total transaction of $16,641,167.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 263,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at $296,002,472.28. This trade represents a 5.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackRock

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in BlackRock by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,991,264 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $14,680,334,000 after buying an additional 227,192 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,143,429 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,281,641,000 after acquiring an additional 34,049 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the second quarter worth about $2,644,007,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 72.5% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,005,358 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,104,122,000 after purchasing an additional 842,901 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in BlackRock by 105,267.4% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,705,899 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,789,915,000 after purchasing an additional 1,704,280 shares in the last quarter. 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.

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.