BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $1,304.2941.

BLK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,298.00 to $1,320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,340.00 to $1,450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of BlackRock from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,351.00 to $1,199.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th.

Key BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock reported record second-quarter results, with revenue and earnings beating Wall Street estimates and client assets reaching a new high, highlighting strong operating momentum. Blackrock CEO Says Client Demand Has ‘Never Been Greater’ as Assets Reach Record $15.3 Trillion
• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets raised its price target on BlackRock to $1,300 and kept an outperform view, while other firms also lifted targets after the earnings beat, signaling rising Street confidence. BlackRock price target raised by BMO Capital Markets
• Positive Sentiment: J.P. Morgan upgraded BlackRock to overweight/buy-equivalent and Bank of America reiterated a buy rating, citing growth opportunities in tokenization, private markets, direct indexing, and automation-led margin expansion. JP Morgan upgrades BlackRock to buy-equivalent after Q2 earnings
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s iShares business surpassed $6 trillion in assets, and Bitcoin ETF inflows continued to support the firm’s fast-growing ETF platform, reinforcing a strong fee-based growth story. BlackRock iShares Surpasses $6 Trillion in Assets
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles highlighted BlackRock’s expanding ownership stakes in other companies and broader market commentary, but these items are not likely to materially move BLK shares on their own.

BlackRock Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of BLK opened at $1,072.30 on Friday. BlackRock has a twelve month low of $917.39 and a twelve month high of $1,219.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 4.09, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,033.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,043.13.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $13.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.69 by $1.22. The firm had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.73 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.01% and a net margin of 24.09%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 30.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $12.05 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 54.72 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a $5.73 dividend. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,056.60, for a total transaction of $9,233,627.40. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 210,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $222,082,527.60. This represents a 3.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,050.55, for a total transaction of $35,613,645.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 230,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $242,168,583.80. This trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 1.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackRock

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,615,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC grew its holdings in BlackRock by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 2nd quarter worth $259,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock in the 2nd quarter worth $548,000. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in BlackRock in the 2nd quarter worth $98,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

About BlackRock

BlackRock, Inc is a global investment management firm that provides a broad range of products and services to institutional, intermediary and individual investors. Its core activities include portfolio management across active and index strategies, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) under the iShares brand, fixed income, equity and multi-asset solutions, as well as alternatives such as private equity, real estate and infrastructure. The firm also offers cash management and liquidity solutions and retirement-focused products designed for defined contribution and defined benefit investors.

In addition to traditional investment management, BlackRock is known for its technology and risk management capabilities, most prominently its Aladdin platform, which combines portfolio management, trading and risk analytics and is used both internally and licensed to external clients.