Company Update: BlackRock Inc (NYSE:BLK) – BlackRock to restructure after ‘tough’ 1st quarter

[Reuters] – BlackRock Inc said on Thursday it will cut 400 jobs and take a $76 million restructuring charge after posting a 20 percent drop in first-quarter profit amid a dramatic reversal in financial markets. The world’s largest asset manager’s investment performance stumbled and its net inflows, albeit still tens of billions of dollars last quarter, fell as U.S. markets marked a rough start to the year. “We did have a tough quarter,” BlackRock Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink told Reuters. Read more on this. BlackRock, Inc. (BLK) , valued at $58.77B, opened at $343.00. During the trading session, BLK traded between $342.00 to $356.20 with a one year range of $275.00 to $378.80. BLK shares are currently priced at 17.72x this year’s forecasted earnings, which makes them relatively expensive compared to the industry’s 11.48x forward p/e ratio. The company pays shareholders $9.16 per share in dividend income per year, for a current yield of 2.76%. In a review of the consensus earnings estimate this quarter, 17 sell-side analysts are looking at $4.29 per share, which would be $0.60 worse than the year-ago quarter and a $0.28 sequential decrease. What we find to be interesting is that the full-year EPS estimate of $19.65 is a $0.05 better when compared to the previous year’s annual results. The quarterly earnings estimate is predicated on a consensus revenue forecast of $2.72 Billion. If reported, that would be a 0.00% decrease over the year-ago quarter. In terms of ratings, Gabelli & Co upgraded BLK from Hold to Buy (Sep 16, 2015). Previously, Credit Suisse upgraded BLK from Neutral to Outperform. Given all the information above, we should disclose to readers that the average price target is $371.38, which is 8.27% above than it opened this morning. See more in (NYSE:BLK) Similar Articles: Market Update: BlackRock Inc (NYSE:BLK) – BlackRock switches benchmarks on U.S. bond ETFs Stock Update: BlackRock Inc (NYSE:BLK) – BlackRock launches fund for European investment in Tel Aviv blue chips Company Update: BlackRock Inc (NYSE:BLK) – BlackRock reshuffles senior leadership of investment teams