BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Barclays increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,010.00 to $1,120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of BlackRock from $842.00 to $837.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $995.31.

BlackRock Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $944.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $855.82. The company has a market cap of $152.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 5.06, a current ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

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

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $900.00, for a total value of $10,800,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,832,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 35,061 shares of company stock valued at $30,734,840 over the last quarter. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 81.5% in the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 49 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

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.