BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) in a research note released on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm issued an overweight rating and a $1,000.00 price objective on the asset manager’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group decreased their price target on BlackRock from $842.00 to $837.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of BlackRock from $974.00 to $969.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $915.00 to $934.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $912.00 to $937.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $902.13.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.1 %

BLK opened at $885.73 on Thursday. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $596.18 and a 1-year high of $903.46. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $857.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $814.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $131.62 billion, a PE ratio of 22.51, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 5.06, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $10.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.96 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $4.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.85 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 32.36% and a return on equity of 15.44%. BlackRock’s revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.28 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 41.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a $5.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.84%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Pamela Daley sold 1,531 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $842.08, for a total transaction of $1,289,224.48. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,732 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,826,802.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 11,061 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $852.95, for a total value of $9,434,479.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,527,116. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Pamela Daley sold 1,531 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $842.08, for a total value of $1,289,224.48. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,732 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,826,802.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 93,042 shares of company stock worth $79,387,117 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 25.0% in the fourth quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 200 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Zhang Financial LLC grew its position in BlackRock by 24.0% in the first quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 883 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $736,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in BlackRock by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 237,740 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $192,997,000 after buying an additional 1,647 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in BlackRock by 35.8% during the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,732 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,945,000 after buying an additional 1,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morningstar Investment Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 97.1% during the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 114,379 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $93,151,000 after buying an additional 56,357 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by 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.