BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Trading 0.2% Higher

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)’s stock price was up 0.2% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $758.63 and last traded at $752.79. Approximately 102,563 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 615,362 shares. The stock had previously closed at $751.58.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

BlackRock Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $798.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $763.46. The company has a market capitalization of $113.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 3.48, a current ratio of 3.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 12th. The asset manager reported $9.81 earnings per share (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 prior year, the company posted $7.93 earnings per share. BlackRock’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 30,978 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $809.92, for a total transaction of $25,089,701.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 414,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $335,425,128.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Rachel Lord sold 36,059 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $818.06, for a total transaction of $29,498,425.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,910,292.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 30,978 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $809.92, for a total value of $25,089,701.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 414,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $335,425,128.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 72,057 shares of company stock valued at $58,575,704. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BLK. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in BlackRock by 6,850.0% during the first quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 834 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $695,000 after acquiring an additional 822 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 598 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $498,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. 9258 Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 0.8% during the first quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,072 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,727,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Team Hewins LLC lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 3.6% in the first quarter. Team Hewins LLC now owns 524 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $437,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Affinity Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the first quarter worth about $1,042,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently 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.