Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Trims Stock Position in BlackRock $BLK

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. cut its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 35,653 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,243 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $38,161,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BLK. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $2,742,680,000. Oak Harvest Investment Services lifted its position in BlackRock by 12,176.1% in the fourth quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 1,595,153 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,707,356,000 after acquiring an additional 1,582,159 shares during the last quarter. Blue Owl Capital Holdings LP purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $1,012,487,000. Viking Global Investors LP lifted its position in BlackRock by 217.5% in the third quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 619,492 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $722,247,000 after acquiring an additional 424,388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in BlackRock by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,070,468 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,216,105,000 after acquiring an additional 253,314 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other news, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the business’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 directly owned 210,186 shares in the company, valued at $222,082,527.60. The trade was a 3.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,050.55, for a total transaction of $35,613,645.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 1.92% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE BLK opened at $1,031.45 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a current ratio of 4.09. The firm has a market cap of $160.12 billion, a PE ratio of 25.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.42. BlackRock has a one year low of $917.39 and a one year high of $1,219.94. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $1,039.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,051.60.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $9.64 earnings per share. BlackRock’s quarterly revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that BlackRock will post 52.8 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

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

Trending Headlines about BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Negative Sentiment: BlackRock’s private-credit funds saw redemption requests far above the cap, and the firm is again limiting withdrawals, which could weigh on sentiment around its alternatives business. Reuters article
• Negative Sentiment: Bloomberg and other reports said BlackRock’s HPS/HLEND private-credit vehicles capped redemptions after investors sought to withdraw more than 5%, underscoring continued pressure in the funds. Bloomberg article
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock also reported buying additional Bitcoin and Ethereum holdings, and it is preparing an income-focused Bitcoin ETF, highlighting continued growth in its digital-asset franchise. Finbold article
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that BlackRock may seek about $5 billion of SpaceX IPO shares point to strong client demand and product breadth, but this is not as immediate a driver as the redemption headlines. Reuters article

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BLK. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective 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. TD Cowen dropped 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 research note on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group lifted their price objective 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,181.00 to $1,313.00 and gave the company 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 issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,264.61.

About BlackRock

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.