Ascentis Independent Advisors Acquires 984 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Ascentis Independent Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 53.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,839 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 984 shares during the period. Ascentis Independent Advisors’ holdings in BlackRock were worth $2,731,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in BlackRock by 5,190.3% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,490,422 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,876,618,000 after purchasing an additional 5,386,640 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $2,742,680,000. Oak Harvest Investment Services lifted its position in BlackRock by 12,176.1% during the 4th quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 1,595,153 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,707,356,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582,159 shares during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 106,934.0% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 1,284,408 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $128,441,000 after purchasing an additional 1,283,208 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 200.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,451,122 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,553,194,000 after purchasing an additional 968,245 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owned 230,516 shares in the company, valued at $242,168,583.80. This trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the president directly owned 210,186 shares in the company, valued at $222,082,527.60. This trade represents a 3.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 1.92% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BLK opened at $994.50 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $154.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.43. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $1,038.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,045.71. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $917.39 and a 1 year high of $1,219.94. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.40 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.56 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.40% and a return on equity of 14.74%. The firm’s revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.64 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that BlackRock will post 53.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on BLK shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings raised BlackRock from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on BlackRock from $1,269.00 to $1,128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Evercore decreased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,140.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,269.44.

Key BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s ETFs were included in the Treasury’s approved lineup for Trump Accounts, potentially expanding assets and visibility for the firm’s flagship products. Reference
• Positive Sentiment: Articles highlighted continued analyst optimism around BlackRock’s earnings setup, with expectations that the company could beat estimates again when it reports next quarter. Article: Will BlackRock (BLK) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report?
• Positive Sentiment: Tokenized versions of BlackRock’s IVV ETF were launched by Ondo Finance under SEC guidance, reinforcing BlackRock’s relevance in the growing onchain asset market. Article: BlackRock (BLK) Stock Fair Value Edges Higher As Analysts Debate Earnings And Flows
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock also disclosed a small reduction in its voting stake in Umicore, but the filing appears routine and unlikely to materially affect BLK shares. Article: Umicore – Transparency notification by BlackRock, Inc.
• Neutral Sentiment: Crypto headlines were mixed, with Bitcoin ETF outflows and broader crypto weakness offset by growing demand for BlackRock’s tokenized BUIDL product. Article: Yield-bearing stablecoin slowdown ends three-year run for crypto-native products

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.