BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Analyst Says

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) had its price objective upped by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $914.00 to $971.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the asset manager’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price points to a potential downside of 4.11% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on BLK. Barclays reduced their target price on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,088.67.

BlackRock Trading Up 5.1 %

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $1,012.62 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 5.06, a current ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. BlackRock has a 12 month low of $745.55 and a 12 month high of $1,082.45. The company has a market cap of $156.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,029.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $943.81.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.37% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.66 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that BlackRock will post 43.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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