BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $1,076.50 and last traded at $1,071.12, with a volume of 91871 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $1,057.07.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on BlackRock from $864.00 to $914.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,105.00 to $1,133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,039.17.

BlackRock Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 5.06, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market cap of $163.49 billion, a PE ratio of 26.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,013.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $902.97.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The asset manager reported $11.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.42 by $1.04. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.37% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The firm had revenue of $5.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $10.91 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 43.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $5.10 per share. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.35%.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. This trade represents a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. The trade was a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 108,190 shares of company stock worth $113,161,681 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BLK. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 81.5% in the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 49 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.