BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Given New $1,275.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) had its price target hoisted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $1,240.00 to $1,275.00 in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the asset manager’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on BLK. Weiss Ratings upgraded BlackRock from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,393.00 to $1,430.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Evercore dropped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,140.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,269.00 to $1,128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,238.00 to $1,105.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,273.33.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BLK stock traded up $16.50 during trading on Friday, reaching $1,036.18. 595,032 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 794,052. BlackRock has a twelve month low of $917.39 and a twelve month high of $1,219.94. The company has a market capitalization of $160.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,034.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,044.04. The company has a current ratio of 4.09, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $12.40 by $0.13. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 24.40%.The firm had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $9.64 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 53.9 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a $5.73 dividend. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is 57.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

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

Institutional Trading of BlackRock

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in BlackRock in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Birchbrook Inc. acquired a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target on BlackRock and maintained an outperform rating, signaling confidence ahead of earnings.
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays lifted its price target on BlackRock to $1,340 and kept an overweight rating, reflecting expectations for continued business momentum.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect Q2 results to benefit from ETF inflows, higher market levels, and growth in assets under management, which could support earnings and revenue.
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock’s newer crypto-related products, including its Bitcoin income ETF and BUIDL tokenized treasury fund, are attracting attention but are not yet a major earnings driver.
• Neutral Sentiment: Broad crypto ETF outflows were reported, though BlackRock’s IBIT was flat, limiting direct negative impact on the company.

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.