BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $1,057.51 and last traded at $1,046.52, with a volume of 77399 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $1,014.35.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BLK. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen raised their price target on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on BlackRock from $912.00 to $937.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,004.54.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.3 %

The firm has a market cap of $153.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.65, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a fifty day moving average of $953.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $860.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a current ratio of 5.06.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The asset manager reported $11.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.42 by $1.04. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 31.37%. The company had revenue of $5.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $10.91 earnings per share. BlackRock’s revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 42.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 12,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $875.03, for a total transaction of $10,500,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at $5,670,194.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 35,061 shares of company stock valued at $30,734,840 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the third quarter worth about $37,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 100.0% in the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC boosted its position in BlackRock by 81.5% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 49 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.