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

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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 report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,120.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of BlackRock in a report on Saturday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,027.31.

BlackRock Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $166.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.28. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,008.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $900.74.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The asset manager reported $11.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $5.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $10.91 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 43.18 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a $5.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is 50.35%.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $6,777,432. This trade represents a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 108,190 shares of company stock valued at $113,161,681. Company 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. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its position in 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 valued at $993,312,000 after acquiring an additional 1,044,962 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in BlackRock by 104,468.9% in 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 buying an additional 791,874 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in BlackRock by 10.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,363,965 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,244,608,000 after buying an additional 226,135 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in BlackRock in the third quarter worth about $115,377,000. Finally, Sarasin & Partners LLP raised its holdings in BlackRock by 174.8% in the second 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 last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.