BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments Sells 1,100 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments decreased its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 25.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,300 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,100 shares during the quarter. BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments’ holdings in BlackRock were worth $3,578,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,062,677 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $15,051,846,000 after purchasing an additional 221,123 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in BlackRock by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,838,937 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,108,968,000 after buying an additional 12,019 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in BlackRock by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,167,460 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,374,394,000 after buying an additional 27,640 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth about $2,742,680,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,070,468 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,216,105,000 after acquiring an additional 253,314 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,238.00 to $1,105.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Evercore dropped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,140.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Barclays upped their price target 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, April 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of BlackRock from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,264.61.

Insider Activity

In other BlackRock news, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,056.60, for a total transaction of $9,233,627.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 210,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $222,082,527.60. This trade represents a 3.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 230,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $242,168,583.80. This trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock launched a new space-focused ETF for European investors, the iShares Space Technologies UCITS ETF (STAR), with a fast-track IPO inclusion feature that could help attract demand for exposure to newly public space companies. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The new STAR ETF and related coverage highlight BlackRock’s ability to keep expanding its lineup in high-growth thematic investing, which supports the company’s fee-generating asset-gathering story. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Interactive Brokers began offering BlackRock ETFs in European savings plans, which broadens distribution and could help drive additional inflows into BlackRock funds. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock continues to be highlighted as a leading ETF provider with multiple funds showing upside potential, reinforcing the firm’s strong franchise in the ETF market. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock’s commentary on “mega forces” and its market outlook adds to investor attention, but this is more about long-term strategy than an immediate earnings catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Bitcoin ETF outflows remain a headwind, and BlackRock’s IBIT reportedly led exits during a week of heavy redemptions, which could weigh on sentiment around its crypto-related ETF business. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Evercore trimmed its price target on BlackRock, which may slightly temper enthusiasm even though the firm kept an outperform rating. Article Title

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $1,011.46 on Wednesday. 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 has a 12 month low of $917.39 and a 12 month high of $1,219.94. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,035.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,051.35. The stock has a market cap of $157.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.39, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.42.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.40 by $0.13. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.40% and a return on equity of 14.74%. The firm had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $9.64 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that BlackRock will post 52.8 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $5.73 per share. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.