BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Stock Price Up 1.5%

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) shares rose 1.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $790.83 and last traded at $790.03. Approximately 102,869 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 615,570 shares. The stock had previously closed at $778.33.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

BlackRock Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $117.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $795.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $768.60. 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 released its earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The asset manager reported $9.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.42 by $0.39. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.34% and a net margin of 32.26%. The company had revenue of $4.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.93 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other BlackRock news, Director Rachel Lord sold 36,059 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $818.06, for a total value of $29,498,425.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,910,292.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Stephen Cohen sold 950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $805.55, for a total transaction of $765,272.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,574,225.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Rachel Lord sold 36,059 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $818.06, for a total value of $29,498,425.54. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,004 shares in the company, valued at $13,910,292.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 67,987 shares of company stock valued at $55,353,400 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of BlackRock

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the first quarter worth $27,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA raised its position in BlackRock by 208.3% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 37 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is 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.