71 West Capital Partners Invests $22.49 Million in BlackRock $BLK

71 West Capital Partners acquired a new position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 21,010 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $22,488,000. BlackRock accounts for 1.0% of 71 West Capital Partners’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Birchbrook Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on BLK shares. UBS Group raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,235.00 to $1,270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded BlackRock from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,181.00 to $1,313.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s 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.

More BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s Rick Rieder said the recent rally in U.S. equities could accelerate as investors shift cash out of the roughly $8 trillion to $9 trillion parked in money market funds, which would support broader asset prices and potentially BlackRock’s fee-generating AUM. BlackRock’s Rieder Sees ‘Explosive’ Rally as Cash Gets Unlocked
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and media coverage highlighted BlackRock’s income-oriented ETFs, reinforcing the company’s leadership in fee-collecting investment products and ongoing investor demand for yield. 3 High-Yield BlackRock ETFs Paying 6%+ in Passive Income
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock commentary on AI framed the theme as a multi-year investment cycle rather than a short-term trade, which may support long-duration capital allocation into the firm’s strategies. The AI Trade Is Short-Term. The AI Investment Is a Decade: BlackRock’s Three-Phase Framework
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock Canada announced product changes and a risk-rating update for five iShares ETFs, mainly reflecting index methodology changes tied to Research Affiliates’ withdrawal of input data. This appears operational rather than financially material. BlackRock Canada Announces Product Changes and Risk Rating Update
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock also received another look for NYC’s large pension mandate, but there was no final decision reported yet. BlackRock gets another shot at NYC’s massive pension mandate (updated)
• Negative Sentiment: Sen. Elizabeth Warren asked BlackRock and other infrastructure investors for details on data center deals, adding potential regulatory and political scrutiny around private-markets activity. Elizabeth Warren Demands Answers From BlackRock, Blackstone, KKR Over Data Center Deals
• Negative Sentiment: Separate coverage noted Vanguard gaining while BlackRock shed assets in ETF league tables, which could signal competitive pressure in the asset-management business. ETF League Tables: Vanguard Gains, BlackRock Sheds Assets

BlackRock Price Performance

BLK stock opened at $1,042.08 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.09, a current ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. BlackRock has a 52-week low of $917.39 and a 52-week high of $1,219.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $1,041.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,051.69. The company has a market capitalization of $161.76 billion, a PE ratio of 26.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.42.

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

BlackRock Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was 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 owned 230,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $242,168,583.80. This trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,056.60, for a total value of $9,233,627.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 210,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $222,082,527.60. The trade was a 3.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.