Analysts Rate BlackRock ‘Moderate Buy’ with $1,315 Average Price Target
BlackRock received a consensus Moderate Buy rating from 19 analysts, with fifteen Buy and four Hold recommendations and an average 12-month price target of $1,314.71. Analysts have recently adjusted targets, including Bank of America lifting its objective to $1,464 and Keefe Bruyette Woods raising its target to $1,340.
1. Consensus Rating and Price Targets
Shares of BlackRock have garnered a consensus “Moderate Buy” recommendation from nineteen research firms, of which fifteen assign a buy rating and four a hold rating. Analysts’ 12-month price targets average $1,314.71, with recent updates including Bank of America raising its objective to $1,464, Goldman Sachs reaffirming a $1,313 target, BMO Capital Markets setting an outperform rating with a $1,250 target, and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifting its target to $1,340.
2. Quarterly Earnings and Financial Performance
In its latest quarter, BlackRock reported earnings of $13.16 per share, beating consensus estimates by $0.61, and generated revenue of $6.33 billion, below analysts’ $6.80 billion forecast but reflecting a 23.4% year-over-year increase. The firm achieved a 15.14% return on equity and a net margin of 22.93%, building on prior-year EPS of $11.93.
3. Dividend Increase and Yield
The company announced a new quarterly dividend of $5.73 per share, payable March 24 to shareholders of record March 6, up from the prior $5.21 distribution. The annualized payout of $22.92 represents a 2.0% yield, with a payout ratio of approximately 58.8%.
4. Insider and Institutional Transactions
Insiders have sold 48,305 shares totaling about $55.5 million in the past 90 days, including 20,000 shares by a board director at an average of $1,125 and 27,047 shares by the CFO at an average of $1,171.14. Institutional investors hold roughly 80.7% of outstanding shares, underscoring strong interest from large asset managers and mutual funds.