BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Upgraded by BMO Capital Markets to “Strong-Buy” Rating

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) was upgraded by stock analysts at BMO Capital Markets to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on BLK. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,163.00 to $1,312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Argus reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,213.67.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $1,160.75 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $179.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.45. The company’s 50 day moving average is $1,129.67 and its 200 day moving average is $1,027.68. BlackRock has a twelve month low of $773.74 and a twelve month high of $1,183.50. The company has a quick ratio of 4.04, a current ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.41 by $1.64. The company had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $10.36 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,125.60, for a total value of $20,301,321.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 19,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,617,148. This represents a 48.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,122.81, for a total transaction of $4,978,539.54. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,936,571.86. This trade represents a 55.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Welch Group LLC boosted its stake in BlackRock by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 760 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $797,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. boosted its stake in BlackRock by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 340 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. CNB Bank boosted its stake in BlackRock by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 103 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd boosted its stake in BlackRock by 14.3% in the 2nd quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 72 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FAS Wealth Partners Inc. boosted its stake in BlackRock by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 817 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $857,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.