BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,270.00 to $1,320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $1,258.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,238.00 to $1,105.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,304.29.

BlackRock Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $1,037.31 on Monday. BlackRock has a one year low of $917.39 and a one year high of $1,219.94. The company has a market cap of $160.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.79, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a current ratio of 4.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $1,032.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,042.37.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $13.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $12.69 by $1.22. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.09% and a return on equity of 15.01%. The business had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $12.05 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 30.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 55.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,050.55, for a total transaction of $35,613,645.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 230,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $242,168,583.80. The trade was a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,056.60, for a total value of $9,233,627.40. Following the sale, the president owned 210,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $222,082,527.60. The trade was a 3.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of BlackRock

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the first quarter worth $25,000. Birchbrook Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock-led infrastructure vehicles completed the acquisition of Aligned Data Centers and are committing an additional $5 billion in growth capital, reinforcing BLK’s exposure to the AI buildout and alternative-asset fee opportunities. AIP, MGX and BlackRock’s GIP Close Acquisition of Aligned Data Centers
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock Canada announced monthly July cash distributions across a wide slate of iShares ETFs, underscoring the strength and recurring income appeal of its ETF franchise. BlackRock Canada Announces July Cash Distributions for the iShares ETFs
• Positive Sentiment: Investor interest in BlackRock’s Ethereum products remains strong, with reports of fresh inflows into ETHA and a new, similar ether fund that adds another monetizable product in digital assets. Forget ETHA. iShares’ Other Ether Fund Is Nearly Identical, Except It Pays You
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Larry Fink’s comments that AI growth is constrained by electricity, plus New York’s data-center moratorium, keep attention on power bottlenecks for the AI infrastructure theme BlackRock is investing behind. Larry Fink Says AI Needs More Electricity. Google Is Trying To Need Less Of It.
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock’s ETF and asset-management announcements, including distribution updates and product coverage, are broadly supportive but not likely to move the stock on their own. BlackRock® Canada Announces July Cash Distributions for the iShares® ETFs
• Negative Sentiment: Some recent headlines note BlackRock reducing a few holdings and broader financial-sector weakness, which may add mild pressure, but these appear less important than the positive infrastructure and ETF news. Major Shareholder Announcement

About BlackRock

BlackRock, Inc is a global investment management firm that provides a broad range of products and services to institutional, intermediary and individual investors. Its core activities include portfolio management across active and index strategies, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) under the iShares brand, fixed income, equity and multi-asset solutions, as well as alternatives such as private equity, real estate and infrastructure. The firm also offers cash management and liquidity solutions and retirement-focused products designed for defined contribution and defined benefit investors.

In addition to traditional investment management, BlackRock is known for its technology and risk management capabilities, most prominently its Aladdin platform, which combines portfolio management, trading and risk analytics and is used both internally and licensed to external clients.