Morgan Stanley Increases BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Price Target to $1,275.00

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) had its price target hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the asset manager’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on BLK. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price target on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,103.33.

BlackRock Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of BLK opened at $995.02 on Thursday. BlackRock has a 12 month low of $745.55 and a 12 month high of $1,082.45. The company has a quick ratio of 5.06, a current ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $1,028.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $944.29. The stock has a market cap of $154.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.37% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The company’s revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.66 EPS. Equities analysts predict that BlackRock will post 43.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were issued a $5.10 dividend. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is 50.35%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total value of $37,851,121.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,777,432. This trade represents a 84.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total value of $56,485,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,845,393.48. The trade was a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new position in BlackRock during the third quarter valued at approximately $518,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,904,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 27,092 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $25,724,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 68,466 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $65,010,000 after acquiring an additional 1,852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 20.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,338 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,169,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

About BlackRock

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.