BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Trading 0.7% Higher

Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) traded up 0.7% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $755.43 and last traded at $752.57. 154,652 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 620,416 shares. The stock had previously closed at $747.30.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,013.00 to $1,025.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $742.00 to $767.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $930.00 price objective (up from $918.00) on shares of BlackRock in a report on Friday, April 5th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $818.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of BlackRock from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $819.00 to $938.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $845.42.

BlackRock Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 3.48, a current ratio of 3.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $805.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $755.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.37.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released 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 net margin of 32.26% and a return on equity of 15.34%. The firm had revenue of $4.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $7.93 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BlackRock news, insider Marc D. Comerchero sold 450 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $785.11, for a total transaction of $353,299.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,691,032.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Rachel Lord sold 36,059 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $818.06, for a total value of $29,498,425.54. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,004 shares in the company, valued at $13,910,292.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Marc D. Comerchero sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $785.11, for a total value of $353,299.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,691,032.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 100,511 shares of company stock valued at $71,864,028 over the last ninety days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of BlackRock

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in BlackRock by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,918,878 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,181,346,000 after purchasing an additional 749,654 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in BlackRock by 57.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,514,999 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,853,517,000 after purchasing an additional 1,279,952 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in BlackRock by 3.2% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,369,035 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,178,048,000 after purchasing an additional 104,844 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in BlackRock by 1.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,329,550 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,148,586,000 after purchasing an additional 35,161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its stake in BlackRock by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,471,621 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,006,490,000 after purchasing an additional 58,681 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Company Profile

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.