BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) was downgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Wednesday, July 19th.
According to Zacks, “BlackRock’s shares have underperformed the Zacks categorized Investment Management industry, in the last six months. The company’s second-quarter 2017 earnings lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate on lower-than-expected revenue growth. Mounting costs (largely due to continuous marketing campaign) remains a major concern. Also, its high dependence on overseas revenues makes us apprehensive. However, the company is undertaking initiatives to restructure its actively managed equities business with an aim to meet changing client needs. These will further help top-line growth going forward. Further, it has expanded globally via acquisitions and remains well positioned to capitalize on opportunistic deals, given its strong liquidity position.”
Several other research firms have also weighed in on BLK. Deutsche Bank AG upped their target price on BlackRock from $447.00 to $449.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $440.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Friday, July 14th. Bank of America Corporation reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Monday, June 19th. Wells Fargo & Co reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $425.00 price objective (up previously from $380.00) on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Wednesday, July 12th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $534.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. The company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $434.93.
Shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) opened at 426.51 on Wednesday. BlackRock has a 52 week low of $336.84 and a 52 week high of $442.83. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $427.11 and its 200 day moving average is $397.31. The firm has a market cap of $69.18 billion, a PE ratio of 20.47 and a beta of 1.71.
BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 17th. The asset manager reported $5.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $5.39 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.92% and a return on equity of 11.79%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.78 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that BlackRock will post $21.84 EPS for the current year.
In other BlackRock news, Director Susan Wagner sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.31, for a total transaction of $1,035,775.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 484,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $200,685,963.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Mark Mccombe sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $405.98, for a total value of $202,990.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,772 shares of company stock worth $1,567,516. Company insiders own 1.86% of the company’s stock.
Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 48.9% in the first quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 259 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $103,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Enterprise Financial Services Corp raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 52.5% in the second quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 247 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Kings Point Capital Management raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 34.5% in the first quarter. Kings Point Capital Management now owns 273 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the first quarter valued at approximately $108,000. Finally, Peoples Financial Services CORP. purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the first quarter valued at approximately $115,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.76% of the company’s stock.
About BlackRock
BlackRock, Inc (BlackRock) is an investment management company. BlackRock provides a range of investment and risk management services to institutional and retail clients worldwide. Its diverse platform of active (alpha) and index (beta) investment strategies across asset classes enables the Company to tailor investment outcomes and asset allocation solutions for clients.
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