BlackRock $BLK Shares Acquired by Krilogy Financial LLC

Krilogy Financial LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 254.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,855 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 2,766 shares during the period. Krilogy Financial LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $4,324,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter valued at $6,201,000. Lingohr Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the third quarter worth $700,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 6,347.9% in the third quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 42,234 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $49,239,000 after acquiring an additional 41,579 shares in the last quarter. Sienna Gestion boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 51.5% during the third quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 22,859 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $24,299,000 after acquiring an additional 7,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the third quarter valued at $83,247,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on BLK. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,290.00 to $1,310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. CICC Research lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,368.00 to $1,393.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,296.00 to $1,380.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Friday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BlackRock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,266.28.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 385 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,084.91, for a total transaction of $417,690.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,618,174.85. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 5,293 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,084.22, for a total value of $5,738,776.46. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 46,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,074,700.70. The trade was a 10.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 84,272 shares of company stock valued at $92,323,426 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.92% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of BLK stock opened at $1,052.56 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,012.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,066.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $845.82 and a 1-year high of $1,219.94. The firm has a market cap of $163.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.42, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.48.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.40 by $0.13. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.40% and a return on equity of 14.96%. The firm had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.64 earnings per share. BlackRock’s revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

More BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat expectations — BlackRock reported stronger-than-expected revenue and EPS with healthy net inflows, which supports fee growth and the stock’s rally. BlackRock, Inc. Just Beat Earnings Expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Senior management bullish — Rick Rieder highlighted “extraordinary” equity technicals and strong earnings momentum on Bloomberg, reinforcing a risk-on view that can attract flows into BlackRock products. BlackRock’s Rieder Says Equity Technicals Are Extraordinary
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support and higher targets — Recent analyst notes and a new UBS price target lift sentiment and provide cover for buyers after the earnings print. BlackRock Given New $1,270.00 Price Target at UBS Group
• Positive Sentiment: Media endorsements and product demand — Commentary (including Jim Cramer) and attention to BlackRock’s private-credit capabilities and high-yield iShares ETFs may support asset-gathering prospects. Jim Cramer Highlights “BlackRock Has Good Private Credit”
• Neutral Sentiment: Product innovation / retirement flows — Coverage about private assets possibly entering 401(k)s and interest in BlackRock dividend/high-yield ETFs could expand addressable market over time, but adoption and regulation are still uncertain. Private Assets Could Join Your 401(k): What You Need To Know 5 Best High-Yield BlackRock Dividend ETFs Paying Over 5%
• Negative Sentiment: Private-credit liquidity concerns — Investors remain wary after a March cap on quarterly repurchases at BlackRock’s HPS corporate-lending vehicle and softer quarter-end AUM versus year-end, which pressured sentiment and prompted a post-earnings pullback earlier in the week. BlackRock slips 3.2% as investors digest Q1 results and lingering private-credit concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Investor lawsuit inquiry — Pomerantz has opened an investigation into BLK investor claims; legal action can create headline risk and potential costs, keeping some investors cautious. Pomerantz Law Firm Investigates Claims On Behalf of Investors of BlackRock

BlackRock Profile

BlackRock, Inc is a global investment management firm that provides a broad range of products and services to institutional, intermediary and individual investors. Its core activities include portfolio management across active and index strategies, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) under the iShares brand, fixed income, equity and multi-asset solutions, as well as alternatives such as private equity, real estate and infrastructure. The firm also offers cash management and liquidity solutions and retirement-focused products designed for defined contribution and defined benefit investors.

In addition to traditional investment management, BlackRock is known for its technology and risk management capabilities, most prominently its Aladdin platform, which combines portfolio management, trading and risk analytics and is used both internally and licensed to external clients.