Fisher Funds Management LTD Reduces Position in BlackRock $BLK

Fisher Funds Management LTD reduced its position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 12.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,299 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 598 shares during the quarter. Fisher Funds Management LTD’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $4,134,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Shum Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Shum Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,183 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,336,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the period. First Bancorp Inc ME raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 9 shares during the period. Rather & Kittrell Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 9 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 755 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $808,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 23.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 52 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on BLK shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,181.00 to $1,313.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on BlackRock from $1,351.00 to $1,199.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,235.00 to $1,270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,368.00 to $1,393.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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 research note on Monday, April 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,264.61.

Key Headlines Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF continues to act as a gateway for new investors into traditional finance, with Jay Jacobs saying roughly three-quarters of IBIT holders had never owned an ETF before. That supports the case for continued asset-gathering strength in BlackRock’s ETF franchise. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock filed for an iShares Bitcoin Premium Income ETF, a covered-call product aimed at income seekers. The move suggests BlackRock is broadening its crypto ETF lineup and could attract more fee-generating inflows. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock Canada announced June cash distributions for multiple iShares ETFs, reinforcing the company’s large and steady ETF distribution machine, which can be viewed as a sign of recurring product demand. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock was also highlighted as one of the largest Bitcoin holders, with Arkham data placing it ahead of Binance in BTC count. This reflects the scale of its crypto exposure, but it is more descriptive than fundamentally material on its own. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage comparing BlackRock with Blackstone and news about BlackRock entering the active high-yield ETF arena are broadly supportive of its product expansion, but neither article points to an immediate catalyst for the stock. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: One headline noted BlackRock “dumps 1,000 Bitcoin” as BTC struggled to hold the $60,000 level. If sustained, weaker crypto prices could dampen sentiment around BlackRock’s Bitcoin-linked products, though the impact on BLK itself is likely limited. Article Title

BlackRock Trading Up 0.1%

BLK opened at $1,051.51 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $1,047.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,051.99. The company has a market capitalization of $163.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.39, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.42. BlackRock has a 52 week low of $917.39 and a 52 week high of $1,219.94. 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 (NYSE:BLK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $9.64 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 52.8 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the president owned 210,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $222,082,527.60. This trade represents a 3.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $35,613,645.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 230,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $242,168,583.80. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.92% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.