BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Given New $1,456.00 Price Target at Bank of America

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) had its target price raised by Bank of America from $1,394.00 to $1,456.00 in a report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the asset manager’s stock.

BLK has been the subject of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on BlackRock from $1,224.00 to $1,362.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on BlackRock in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,280.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on BlackRock from $1,093.00 to $1,242.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,300.81.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $1,201.37 on Wednesday. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $773.74 and a 1 year high of $1,219.94. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,138.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,039.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.03 billion, a PE ratio of 30.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 4.04 and a quick ratio of 4.04.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its 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). BlackRock had a net margin of 26.64% and a return on equity of 15.36%. The business had revenue of $6.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $11.46 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 25.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 14,828 shares of BlackRock 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,122.81, for a total transaction of $4,978,539.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,506 shares in the company, valued at $3,936,571.86. This represents a 55.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Securian Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in BlackRock in the first quarter worth $7,331,000. Prudent Man Advisors LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock in the first quarter worth $2,018,000. Allianz SE grew its holdings in BlackRock by 2.6% in the first quarter. Allianz SE now owns 11,025 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $10,435,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System purchased a new position in BlackRock in the first quarter worth $40,868,000. Finally, Community Financial Services Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 17.2% during the first quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 5,702 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,397,000 after buying an additional 836 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.