BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Sets New 52-Week High - Here's What Happened

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $1,107.48 and last traded at $1,105.42, with a volume of 126352 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $1,101.64.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on BLK. Argus reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,214.00 to $1,224.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,144.43.

BlackRock Stock Up 1.6%

The stock's fifty day moving average is $1,003.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $971.46. The company has a current ratio of 4.34, a quick ratio of 4.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market cap of $164.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.41.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.41 by $1.64. The business had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.40 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 30.09% and a return on equity of 15.57%. BlackRock's revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $10.36 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $912.50, for a total value of $9,125,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 66,034 shares of the company's stock, valued at $60,256,025. This represents a 13.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,764,072 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $13,027,419,000 after purchasing an additional 387,466 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,097,524 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $4,200,450,000 after purchasing an additional 93,844 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 104,598.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,500,083 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,312,759,000 after purchasing an additional 3,496,740 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,006,765 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,072,787,000 after purchasing an additional 190,188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,390,450 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,450,475,000 after purchasing an additional 26,485 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.