BMO Capital Markets Issues Positive Forecast for BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Stock Price

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) had its price target hoisted by BMO Capital Markets from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the asset manager’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on BLK. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on BlackRock from $1,351.00 to $1,199.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of BlackRock from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,383.00 to $1,488.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,270.00 to $1,320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,304.29.

BlackRock Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of BLK opened at $1,072.30 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.63, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 4.09 and a quick ratio of 4.09. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $917.39 and a 1-year high of $1,219.94. The company has a 50-day moving average of $1,033.74 and a 200 day moving average of $1,043.13.

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

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other news, 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 value of $35,613,645.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 230,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $242,168,583.80. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,056.60, for a total value of $9,233,627.40. Following the transaction, the president owned 210,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $222,082,527.60. This represents a 3.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Shum Financial Group Inc. increased its position in BlackRock by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Shum Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,183 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,336,000 after buying an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME now owns 321 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $344,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Rather & Kittrell Inc. boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Rather & Kittrell Inc. now owns 430 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $461,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 755 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $808,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mechanics Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 1,900 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,034,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock News Summary

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.

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.