BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Shares Up 0.8%

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) shares were up 0.8% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $769.27 and last traded at $766.27. Approximately 102,897 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 623,260 shares. The stock had previously closed at $760.11.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on BLK shares. TD Cowen upgraded BlackRock from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $819.00 to $938.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,013.00 to $1,025.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $930.00 price objective (up previously from $918.00) on shares of BlackRock in a report on Friday, April 5th. UBS Group increased their price objective on BlackRock from $818.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on BlackRock from $742.00 to $767.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $845.42.

BlackRock Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $804.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $758.48. The company has a market capitalization of $114.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 3.48, a quick ratio of 3.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel Christopher J. Meade sold 3,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $793.86, for a total transaction of $2,460,966.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 8,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,849,424.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, General Counsel Christopher J. Meade sold 3,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $793.86, for a total value of $2,460,966.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 8,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,849,424.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 30,978 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 414,146 shares in the company, valued at $335,425,128.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 82,511 shares of company stock valued at $66,778,367. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Emerald Advisors LLC lifted its stake in BlackRock by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $851,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors lifted its stake in BlackRock by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 1,101 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $712,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in BlackRock by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 764 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $620,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd purchased a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $439,000. Finally, Patten & Patten Inc. TN purchased a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $205,000. 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.