Great Lakes Advisors LLC Sells 1,329 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Great Lakes Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 156,380 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,329 shares during the quarter. BlackRock accounts for about 1.4% of Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned about 0.10% of BlackRock worth $167,383,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Birchbrook Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in BlackRock in the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen decreased their target price on BlackRock from $1,238.00 to $1,105.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on BlackRock from $1,351.00 to $1,199.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,181.00 to $1,313.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,235.00 to $1,270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,264.61.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the 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 sale, the president directly owned 210,186 shares in the company, valued at $222,082,527.60. This represents a 3.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the 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 owned 230,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $242,168,583.80. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.92% of the company’s stock.

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

BlackRock Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of BLK stock opened at $1,017.36 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.93 billion, a PE ratio of 25.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.42. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $917.39 and a 1-year high of $1,219.94. The business has a 50-day moving average of $1,038.39 and a 200 day moving average of $1,051.51. 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 (NYSE:BLK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $12.40 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.56 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 24.40%.BlackRock’s quarterly revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $9.64 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 52.8 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 2.3%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio 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.