State of Wisconsin Investment Board cut its holdings in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK – Free Report) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 76,321 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 2,259 shares during the quarter. State of Wisconsin Investment Board’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $81,689,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Norges Bank acquired a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,742,680,000. Oak Harvest Investment Services lifted its stake in BlackRock by 12,176.1% in the fourth quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 1,595,153 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,707,356,000 after buying an additional 1,582,159 shares during the period. Blue Owl Capital Holdings LP acquired a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,012,487,000. Viking Global Investors LP lifted its stake in BlackRock by 217.5% in the third quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 619,492 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $722,247,000 after buying an additional 424,388 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,070,468 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,216,105,000 after acquiring an additional 253,314 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,351.00 to $1,199.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,235.00 to $1,270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded BlackRock from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,238.00 to $1,105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,269.00 to $1,128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,264.61.
BlackRock News Roundup
Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:
- Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s investment team is again talking up bitcoin’s long-term upside, reinforcing the firm’s credibility in digital assets and potentially supporting demand for its crypto-linked products. BlackRock’s Rick Rieder Says Bitcoin Going Higher Long-Term But Cuts IBIT For Tech, Credit, EM Debt
- Positive Sentiment: BlackRock launched a covered-call bitcoin ETF under the BITA ticker, adding another income-oriented crypto product to its lineup and showing continued product expansion in a fast-growing category. BlackRock Launches Covered-Call Bitcoin ETF Under BITA Ticker
- Positive Sentiment: Rick Rieder’s comments about roughly $8 trillion to $9 trillion sitting in money-market funds being redeployed could signal a supportive backdrop for risk assets and BlackRock’s asset-gathering franchise. BlackRock’s Rieder Sees ‘Explosive’ Rally as Cash Gets Unlocked
- Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock said it is cutting about 200 jobs globally, a small but notable efficiency move that may help margins over time, though it also signals ongoing restructuring. BlackRock Sheds Another 200 Jobs, Adopting Regular Cycle of Cuts
- Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock Canada announced product and index changes for several iShares ETFs, which is operationally routine and unlikely to move the shares much by itself. BlackRock® Canada Announces Product Changes and Risk Rating Update
- Negative Sentiment: Sen. Elizabeth Warren asked BlackRock and other large investors for details on data-center deals, which could increase regulatory and political pressure around alternative assets and infrastructure investing. Elizabeth Warren Demands Answers From BlackRock, Blackstone, KKR Over Data Center Deals
BlackRock Trading Up 0.9%
Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $1,051.81 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,043.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,051.76. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $917.39 and a 12-month high of $1,219.94. The company has a market capitalization of $163.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 4.09, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.
BlackRock (NYSE:BLK – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $12.40 by $0.13. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 24.40%.The business had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $9.64 earnings per share. BlackRock’s revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 52.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
BlackRock Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $5.73 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is 57.53%.
Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock
In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,050.55, for a total transaction of $35,613,645.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 230,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $242,168,583.80. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,056.60, for a total value of $9,233,627.40. Following the sale, the president owned 210,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $222,082,527.60. This trade represents a 3.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.92% of the company’s stock.
BlackRock Company 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.
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