BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Given New $1,200.00 Price Target at Citigroup

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) had its price objective increased by Citigroup from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Citigroup’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 16.65% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on BlackRock from $864.00 to $914.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,105.00 to $1,133.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,120.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,063.00.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $1,028.69 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $1,023.10 and its 200-day moving average is $915.10. The firm has a market cap of $159.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.28. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $745.55 and a 1-year high of $1,082.45. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The asset manager reported $11.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.42 by $1.04. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.37% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The business had revenue of $5.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $10.91 earnings per share. BlackRock’s revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 43.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total transaction of $56,485,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. This trade represents a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total value of $37,851,121.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,777,432. The trade was a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $518,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in BlackRock in the third quarter valued at $32,904,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in BlackRock by 2.3% during the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 27,092 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $25,724,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in BlackRock by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 68,466 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $65,010,000 after acquiring an additional 1,852 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 20.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,338 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,169,000 after acquiring an additional 565 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.