BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BLK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,105.00 to $1,133.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Saturday, December 7th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,120.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,039.17.

BlackRock Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $163.49 billion, a PE ratio of 26.12, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 5.06 and a quick ratio of 5.06. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,013.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $902.97.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted 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 return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 31.37%. The firm had revenue of $5.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $10.91 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 43.18 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $5.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. BlackRock’s payout ratio is 50.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, General Counsel Christopher J. Meade sold 18,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,045.83, for a total transaction of $18,824,940.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 8,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,023,421.24. This represents a 67.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total transaction of $56,485,620.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,845,393.48. This trade represents a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 108,190 shares of company stock worth $113,161,681. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackRock

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 89,389.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,046,131 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $993,312,000 after acquiring an additional 1,044,962 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 104,468.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 792,632 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $7,526,120,000 after purchasing an additional 791,874 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 10.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,363,965 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,244,608,000 after purchasing an additional 226,135 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the third quarter worth about $115,377,000. Finally, Sarasin & Partners LLP increased its stake in BlackRock by 174.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 184,291 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $145,096,000 after buying an additional 117,218 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by 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.