BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Hits New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• BlackRock's stock reached a new 52-week high of $1,184.13 after Morgan Stanley raised its price target from $1,224 to $1,362, with the current stock price at $1,179.86.
• Multiple analysts have upgraded BlackRock's price targets recently, with Barclays, Jefferies, and Citigroup all increasing their targets to above $1,200, while maintaining "overweight" or "buy" ratings.
• BlackRock declared a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share, with a payout ratio of 50.39%, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 1.8% for investors.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Monday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $1,224.00 to $1,362.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. BlackRock traded as high as $1,184.13 and last traded at $1,179.86, with a volume of 387245 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $1,160.69.

BLK has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barclays increased their price target on BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,163.00 to $1,312.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,222.87.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,120.50, for a total transaction of $19,207,611.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 61,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at $68,763,964.50. This trade represents a 21.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,122.81, for a total value of $4,978,539.54. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,506 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,936,571.86. This represents a 55.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackRock

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its stake in BlackRock by 76.5% in the 1st quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in BlackRock by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. boosted its stake in BlackRock by 200.0% in the 2nd quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 27 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Traub Capital Management LLC bought a new position in BlackRock in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new position in BlackRock in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Trading Up 1.7%

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,129.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,028.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a current ratio of 4.04. The firm has a market cap of $182.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $10.41 by $1.64. The firm had revenue of $5.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 29.68%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $10.36 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were given a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.39%.

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.

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