BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) had its price objective boosted by research analysts at Jefferies Group to $565.00 in a report released on Monday, The Fly reports. The firm presently has a “hold” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Jefferies Group’s target price points to a potential upside of 1.70% from the company’s previous close. Jefferies Group also issued estimates for BlackRock’s Q4 2018 earnings at $7.76 EPS, FY2018 earnings at $28.18 EPS and FY2019 earnings at $31.63 EPS.
Several other analysts have also commented on the company. Credit Suisse Group reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Thursday, October 12th. Barclays raised their price objective on BlackRock from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $501.00 price objective (up from $476.00) on shares of BlackRock in a report on Thursday, October 5th. Goldman Sachs Group raised BlackRock from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $440.00 to $500.00 in a report on Thursday, September 28th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research lowered BlackRock from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $519.00.
Shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) traded up $17.61 on Monday, reaching $555.53. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 941,800 shares, compared to its average volume of 572,111. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 2.89 and a current ratio of 2.89. BlackRock has a one year low of $365.83 and a one year high of $556.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $89,070.00, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.81.
In other news, Director Susan Wagner sold 4,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $506.10, for a total value of $2,024,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 481,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $243,897,181.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeff A. Smith sold 100 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.54, for a total value of $47,754.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.86% of the company’s stock.
Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 8.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,450,778 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,569,693,000 after acquiring an additional 656,569 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in BlackRock by 12.9% during the second quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 7,105,319 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,001,358,000 after buying an additional 810,667 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in BlackRock by 3.2% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,750,714 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,851,570,000 after buying an additional 209,209 shares in the last quarter. Third Point LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock during the second quarter worth approximately $654,736,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in BlackRock by 2.8% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 652,317 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $275,544,000 after buying an additional 18,054 shares in the last quarter. 83.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About BlackRock
BlackRock, Inc (BlackRock) is an investment management company. BlackRock provides a range of investment and risk management services to institutional and retail clients worldwide. Its diverse platform of active (alpha) and index (beta) investment strategies across asset classes enables the Company to tailor investment outcomes and asset allocation solutions for clients.
