JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Price Target to $1,242.00

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) had its price objective increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $1,093.00 to $1,242.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning,MarketScreener reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the asset manager’s stock.

BLK has been the topic of several other research reports. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $980.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays upped their price target on BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Argus reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,213.67.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE BLK opened at $1,160.75 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $179.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 4.04 and a quick ratio of 4.04. BlackRock has a 12 month low of $773.74 and a 12 month high of $1,183.50. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $1,129.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,028.18.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.41 by $1.64. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The company had revenue of $5.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $10.36 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were given a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.39%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 12,054 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,125.43, for a total value of $13,565,933.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 251,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $283,267,354.71. This trade represents a 4.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,122.81, for a total transaction of $4,978,539.54. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,936,571.86. The trade was a 55.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573 in the last 90 days. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Securian Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the first quarter valued at about $7,331,000. Prudent Man Advisors LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,018,000. Allianz SE raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Allianz SE now owns 11,025 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $10,435,000 after buying an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,868,000. Finally, Community Financial Services Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 17.2% in the first quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 5,702 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,397,000 after acquiring an additional 836 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

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.