BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Reaches New 52-Week High - What's Next?

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $1,085.00 and last traded at $1,081.86, with a volume of 49151 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,082.15.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on BLK shares. TD Cowen dropped their price target on BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,108.62.

BlackRock Price Performance

The company's 50 day moving average price is $982.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $969.29. The stock has a market cap of $166.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 4.34, a current ratio of 4.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.47 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 30.09% and a return on equity of 15.57%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $9.81 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 23rd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.63%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $912.50, for a total transaction of $9,125,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 66,034 shares in the company, valued at $60,256,025. This trade represents a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BLK. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in BlackRock by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 65,396 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $67,038,000 after acquiring an additional 4,210 shares during the period. Polar Capital Holdings Plc bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $15,307,000. Community Financial Services Group LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 17.2% in the first quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 5,702 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $5,397,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares during the period. Kennedy Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the first quarter valued at approximately $568,000. Finally, 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the first quarter valued at approximately $578,000. 80.69% of the stock is 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.