Allen Investment Management LLC Takes Position in BlackRock $BLK

Allen Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 538 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $576,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in BlackRock by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 920,578 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $985,331,000 after buying an additional 7,457 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 6,347.9% during the 3rd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 42,234 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $49,239,000 after buying an additional 41,579 shares in the last quarter. Sienna Gestion grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 51.5% during the 3rd 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 period. Sarasin & Partners LLP grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 251,856 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $269,572,000 after acquiring an additional 24,196 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in BlackRock by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 360,995 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $420,873,000 after acquiring an additional 29,449 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on BLK. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. CICC Research raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,269.00 to $1,128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,290.00 to $1,310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,269.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,050.55, for a total value of $35,613,645.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 230,516 shares in the company, valued at $242,168,583.80. The trade was a 12.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,056.60, for a total transaction of $9,233,627.40. Following the sale, the president owned 210,186 shares in the company, valued at $222,082,527.60. This represents a 3.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.92% of the company’s stock.

Key BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s Rick Rieder said earnings growth and cash moving back into markets support a bullish case for stocks, which reinforces confidence in the firm’s market outlook and asset-management franchise. Why BlackRock’s Rick Rieder feels ‘a bit more relaxed’ about AI bull market than dotcom era
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock increased its stake in OMV to 4.67%, signaling continued active investment activity and influence in large institutional holdings. BlackRock Lifts OMV Stake Above 4 Threshold
• Positive Sentiment: Financial stocks were broadly higher in Tuesday trading, which could provide a sector tailwind for BlackRock as an asset manager. Sector Update: Financial Stocks Advance Tuesday Afternoon
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock launched a $25 million Future Builders RFP to support skilled trades workforce development, a reputationally positive move but not likely to have a direct near-term earnings impact. BlackRock Future Builders RFP Links Skilled Trades Philanthropy And Client Relations
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock refined tracking and climate-screen methodology for certain iShares ETFs in India and Asia ex-Japan, a product update that is unlikely to materially move the stock on its own. BlackRock Tightens Tracking and Refines Climate Screens for India and Asia ex Japan iShares ETFs
• Negative Sentiment: BlackRock’s crypto-related ETFs are seeing heavy outflows, including a reported $1.26 billion sale of IBIT shares and broader weekly outflows from spot Bitcoin ETFs, which could weigh on sentiment around the company’s rapidly watched digital-asset business. NYDIG suggests $1.3B IBIT sale was whale exiting directional trade
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that BlackRock’s crypto portfolio value fell by more than $13 billion over five months add to concerns about weaker performance in its digital-asset exposure. BlackRock crypto portfolio fell by over $13 billion in 5 months

BlackRock Price Performance

NYSE:BLK opened at $1,019.74 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $1,030.75 and its 200 day moving average is $1,053.05. 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 $158.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 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) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.40 by $0.13. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 24.40%.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 prior year, the company earned $9.64 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 52.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $5.73 dividend. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.53%.

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.