Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Has Lowered Expectations for BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Stock Price

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) had its price objective decreased by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective points to a potential upside of 20.49% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on BLK. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,245.00 to $1,261.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup boosted their price target on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com started coverage on BlackRock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,088.67.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.8 %

BLK opened at $962.75 on Monday. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $745.55 and a 1-year high of $1,082.45. The business has a 50 day moving average of $1,029.20 and a 200-day moving average of $943.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 5.06, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total transaction of $56,485,620.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. This represents a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total value of $37,851,121.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,777,432. This represents a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackRock

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 100.0% during the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during 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.