BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $1,176.74 and last traded at $1,174.98, with a volume of 71745 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $1,156.45.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,214.00 to $1,224.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Argus reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,171.93.

BlackRock Stock Up 1.3%

The company has a market capitalization of $181.33 billion, a PE ratio of 28.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.45. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,124.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,021.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a current ratio of 4.04.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.41 by $1.64. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The business had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $10.36 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were given a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 50.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 12,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,125.43, for a total value of $13,565,933.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 251,697 shares in the company, valued at $283,267,354.71. The trade was a 4.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,120.50, for a total transaction of $19,207,611.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 61,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,763,964.50. The trade was a 21.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573 over the last 90 days. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its stake in BlackRock by 76.5% in the 1st quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in BlackRock by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. raised its stake in BlackRock by 200.0% in the 2nd quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 27 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Traub Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. 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.