BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $1,084.22 and last traded at $1,081.27, with a volume of 187937 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $1,071.52.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.5 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,025.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $960.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.66 EPS. BlackRock’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.45 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total value of $10,100,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at $69,117,330. This represents a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total value of $37,851,121.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at $6,777,432. The trade was a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 100,190 shares of company stock worth $104,436,741 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 4,500 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,613,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,069,000. Bfsg LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $79,000. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. boosted its stake in BlackRock by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 24,014 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $24,617,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in BlackRock by 903.0% in the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 8,997 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $9,223,000 after purchasing an additional 8,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

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.