The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Stock Price

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) had its target price decreased by investment analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $1,341.00 to $1,181.00 in a research report issued on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the asset manager’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target suggests a potential upside of 22.08% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of BlackRock from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. Freedom Capital raised shares of BlackRock from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Bank of America lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,456.00 to $1,464.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Barclays increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,244.00 to $1,267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,291.44.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE BLK opened at $967.39 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $1,029.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,075.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. BlackRock has a twelve month low of $773.74 and a twelve month high of $1,219.94. The company has a market capitalization of $150.47 billion, a PE ratio of 27.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.48.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $13.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.55 by $0.61. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.78% and a net margin of 22.93%.The business had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $11.93 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stephen Cohen sold 225 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,069.56, for a total transaction of $240,651.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,054,779.16. The trade was a 3.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 385 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,084.91, for a total transaction of $417,690.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,335 shares in the company, valued at $3,618,174.85. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 111,319 shares of company stock valued at $123,999,249 in the last quarter. 1.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of BlackRock

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. boosted its stake in BlackRock by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 817 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $857,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the period. First Financial Bank Trust Division boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 1,794 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,092,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co. grew its position in BlackRock by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 1,444 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,683,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. PUREfi Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 2.0% during the third quarter. PUREfi Wealth LLC now owns 460 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $536,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Shum Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 0.4% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.