BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $1,010.00 to $1,120.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. BlackRock traded as high as $1,001.63 and last traded at $1,001.63, with a volume of 55069 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $991.72.

BLK has been the subject of several other reports. Argus upped their price target on BlackRock from $880.00 to $910.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com began coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Saturday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on BlackRock from $912.00 to $937.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on BlackRock from $920.00 to $930.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $991.46.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, Director Pamela Daley sold 1,531 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $842.08, for a total value of $1,289,224.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,732 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,826,802.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $900.00, for a total value of $10,800,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,832,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Pamela Daley sold 1,531 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $842.08, for a total value of $1,289,224.48. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,732 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,826,802.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 66,042 shares of company stock valued at $56,857,777. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BLK. MONECO Advisors LLC bought a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $203,000. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,273,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 1,606 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,339,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,136 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $947,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 1,384.6% during the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 11,773 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $9,815,000 after buying an additional 10,980 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Price 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $905.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $833.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $149.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.59, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.30.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The asset manager reported $11.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.42 by $1.04. The business had revenue of $5.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.03 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.44% and a net margin of 32.36%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $10.91 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.73 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were given a dividend of $5.10 per share. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is 51.84%.

About BlackRock

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.