Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK – Free Report) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 14,080 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $13,539,000.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Advisors Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,847,000. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in BlackRock by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 920,578 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $985,331,000 after purchasing an additional 7,457 shares during the last quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,185,000. Haverford Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the second quarter worth $264,500,000. Finally, Liberty One Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 30.7% in the 1st quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 4,861 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,141 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Key Stories Impacting BlackRock
Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:
- Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s cryptocurrency portfolio reportedly gained more than $15 billion in August, while the firm purchased more than $3.1 billion of Bitcoin and Ethereum-linked assets over eight days. Rising crypto prices and strong inflows into BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs could increase fee revenue and reinforce its position in digital-asset investing. BlackRock cryptocurrency portfolio up by over $15 billion so far in August
- Positive Sentiment: A newer BlackRock ETF is reportedly up 19% this year, outperforming JPMorgan’s popular JEPQ while charging the same fee. Better-performing products may help BlackRock attract assets and expand recurring management fees. BlackRock ETF performance comparison
- Positive Sentiment: Adroit Trading Technologies announced integration with BlackRock’s Aladdin platform, expanding access to cross-asset execution tools for mutual clients. The agreement supports Aladdin’s reach and could modestly strengthen BlackRock’s technology-related revenue opportunity. Adroit Trading Technologies Aladdin integration
- Positive Sentiment: BlackRock executives continue to describe Bitcoin as a potential hedge against rising U.S. debt and deficits and say institutional demand is strengthening. This supports the firm’s broader strategy of positioning its ETFs and investment products around digital assets.
- Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock disclosed a significant stake in QIAGEN (QGEN) through a filing with the Dutch financial regulator. The investment may reflect portfolio-management activity, but it is not expected to have a material near-term effect on BLK earnings. BlackRock stake in QIAGEN
- Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock participated in Piramal Finance’s heavily oversubscribed Indian share offering, highlighting continued institutional demand for its investment-management capabilities but providing limited direct impact on BLK’s financial results.
- Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock’s view that the CLARITY Act is less critical for Bitcoin than for other cryptocurrencies suggests the company expects Bitcoin’s institutional adoption to continue even amid regulatory uncertainty.
- Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded BlackRock from “strong buy” to “hold,” potentially adding valuation pressure after the stock’s substantial advance and recent proximity to its 52-week high.
- Negative Sentiment: The Rosen Law Firm announced an investigation into potential securities claims involving BlackRock mutual funds and allegations of misleading business information. The announcement is not a formal finding of wrongdoing, but it creates legal and reputational overhang for investors. Rosen Law Firm BlackRock investigation
Analyst Ratings Changes
BlackRock Trading Down 0.4%
Shares of BLK stock opened at $1,162.58 on Friday. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $917.39 and a 1-year high of $1,219.94. The company has a current ratio of 3.59, a quick ratio of 3.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $180.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.79, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $1,079.72 and a 200-day moving average of $1,047.58.
BlackRock (NYSE:BLK – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $13.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.69 by $1.22. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.90% and a net margin of 24.09%.The company had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $12.05 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 30.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 55.86 earnings per share for the current year.
BlackRock Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a $5.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. BlackRock’s payout ratio is 54.78%.
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.
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