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

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) shares reached a new 52-week high during 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 trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $1,057.07.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on BLK shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Sunday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. 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 report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $864.00 to $914.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,039.17.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.0 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $1,019.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $910.97. 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 capitalization of $162.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.91, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The asset manager reported $11.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.42 by $1.04. The firm had revenue of $5.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.03 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 31.37%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $10.91 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 43.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $5.10 per share. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is presently 50.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total transaction of $37,851,121.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,777,432. This represents a 84.81 % 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 the SEC website. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total value of $56,485,620.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. The trade was a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of BlackRock

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in BlackRock by 100.0% in the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 22 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.