Burkett Asset Management Ltd Makes New $590,000 Investment in BlackRock $BLK

Burkett Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 551 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $590,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Shum Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in BlackRock by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Shum Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,183 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,336,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME grew its holdings in BlackRock by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME now owns 321 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Rather & Kittrell Inc. grew its holdings in BlackRock by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Rather & Kittrell Inc. now owns 430 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $461,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its holdings in BlackRock by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 755 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $808,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in BlackRock by 23.8% in the third quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 52 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on BLK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,269.00 to $1,128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,235.00 to $1,270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,181.00 to $1,313.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. 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.com, the company presently has a consensus 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 is expanding its ETF lineup with new thematic products, including a space-focused fund in Europe/UK and a planned income-paying Bitcoin ETF, reinforcing its leadership in fast-growing areas of asset management. How Investors Are Reacting To BlackRock (BLK) Expanding Into Space ETFs And Digital Assets
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that BlackRock is seeking to buy at least $5 billion of SpaceX IPO shares highlight its willingness to back high-profile alternative assets and could support fee-generating opportunities if the deal moves forward. BlackRock seeks to buy at least $5 billion in SpaceX IPO shares, WSJ reports
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock continues to dominate Bitcoin ETF flows with Fidelity, suggesting its crypto products are capturing the bulk of investor demand in the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF market. BlackRock and Fidelity Dominate U.S. Bitcoin ETF Flows
• Neutral Sentiment: The Supreme Court’s ruling shielding investment funds from some shareholder lawsuits is broadly supportive for the asset-management industry, though the direct impact on BlackRock is limited. Supreme Court Shields Investment Funds From Shareholder Lawsuits
• Neutral Sentiment: Financial stocks were firmer in afternoon trading, creating a generally supportive backdrop for BlackRock, although the move appears driven by sector rotation rather than company-specific news. Sector Update: Financial Stocks Rise Late Afternoon
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage noted BlackRock’s crypto portfolio declined by more than $12 billion early in June and that its Bitcoin holdings were sold while Ethereum was accumulated, which could raise questions about near-term digital-asset mark-to-market performance. BlackRock crypto portfolio falls by over $12 billion in early June

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,050.55, for a total transaction of $35,613,645.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 230,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $242,168,583.80. The trade was a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the president owned 210,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $222,082,527.60. This represents a 3.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $1,017.36 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.93 billion, a PE ratio of 25.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 4.09 and a quick ratio of 4.09. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $917.39 and a 1-year high of $1,219.94. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $1,038.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,051.51.

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

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $5.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. BlackRock’s payout ratio is 57.53%.

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.