BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Stock Price Down 1.7%

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) dropped 1.7% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $748.79 and last traded at $749.67. Approximately 663,071 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 5% from the average daily volume of 632,296 shares. The stock had previously closed at $762.99.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $930.00 price target (up previously from $918.00) on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on BlackRock from $1,013.00 to $1,025.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $742.00 to $767.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $818.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of BlackRock from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $819.00 to $938.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $845.42.

BlackRock Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $111.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 3.48 and a current ratio of 3.48. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $805.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $755.13.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 12th. The asset manager reported $9.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.42 by $0.39. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.34% and a net margin of 32.26%. The firm had revenue of $4.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.65 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $7.93 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 30,978 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $809.92, for a total transaction of $25,089,701.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 414,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $335,425,128.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Rachel Lord sold 36,059 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $818.06, for a total transaction of $29,498,425.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,004 shares in the company, valued at $13,910,292.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 30,978 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $809.92, for a total transaction of $25,089,701.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 414,146 shares in the company, valued at $335,425,128.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 100,511 shares of company stock valued at $71,864,028. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BLK. Carret Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 8.4% during the first quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC now owns 322 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 3.9% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 387,202 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $322,810,000 after purchasing an additional 14,477 shares during the period. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 11.6% during the 1st quarter. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC now owns 432 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 43.2% in the 1st quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 169 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 691 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $576,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in 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.