UBS Group Raises BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Price Target to $1,045.00

by · The Markets Daily

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK – Free Report) had its price target boosted by UBS Group from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the asset manager’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on BLK. Evercore ISI increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of BlackRock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on BlackRock

BlackRock Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE:BLK opened at $1,011.87 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $1,026.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $949.91. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $745.55 and a 1-year high of $1,082.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $156.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.09, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $9.66 earnings per share. BlackRock’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.23 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $5.10 per share. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.57%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackRock

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About BlackRock

(Get Free Report)

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.

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