Platform Wealth Management LLC Acquires Shares of 10,136 BlackRock $BLK

Platform Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 10,136 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $10,849,000. BlackRock makes up approximately 2.9% of Platform Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Birchbrook Inc. purchased a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in BlackRock by 866.7% in the third quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 29 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the president owned 210,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $222,082,527.60. This represents a 3.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief executive officer directly 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. 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. Barclays upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,290.00 to $1,310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report 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 research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,220.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of BlackRock from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,269.06.

BlackRock Stock Down 2.7%

BLK opened at $991.94 on Thursday. BlackRock has a twelve month low of $917.39 and a twelve month 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. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $1,032.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,051.99. The company has a market cap of $153.98 billion, a PE ratio of 24.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.42.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.64 EPS. BlackRock’s revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that BlackRock will post 52.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

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

Trending Headlines about BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock disclosed a 5% stake in Kiwi Property Group, signaling continued activity in its institutional investment portfolio and potentially reinforcing confidence in its deal flow and global capital allocation franchise. BlackRock Takes 5% Stake in Kiwi Property Group
• Positive Sentiment: Jio BlackRock plans to give Indian investors access to global BlackRock ETFs via GIFT City, which could expand the firm’s international ETF distribution and long-term assets under management. Jio BlackRock plans access to global BlackRock ETFs for Indian investors via GIFT City
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock executives remained constructive on markets, with Rick Rieder saying earnings growth and cash moving back into stocks support the bull case, which may help investor sentiment toward the firm’s asset-management outlook. Why BlackRock’s Rick Rieder feels ‘a bit more relaxed’ about AI bull market than dotcom era
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock launched a $25 million Future Builders grant initiative to support skilled trades training; the move is more reputational and philanthropic than immediately material to earnings. BlackRock Future Builders RFP Links Skilled Trades Philanthropy And Client Relations
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock also updated ETF methodologies and climate screens in Asia, and lifted its OMV stake above 4%, both of which reflect ongoing portfolio management but are unlikely to move BLK shares on their own. BlackRock Tightens Tracking and Refines Climate Screens for India and Asia ex Japan iShares ETFs BlackRock Lifts OMV Stake Above 4% Threshold
• Negative Sentiment: One Reuters report said BlackRock’s Atlas Renewable Energy froze $1 billion in Brazil renewables investments after grid rejection issues, which may raise concerns about delays in part of its infrastructure/energy growth strategy. BlackRock’s Atlas freezes $1 billion in Brazil renewables investments
• Negative Sentiment: Ryanair disclosed that BlackRock cut its stake below 3%, which may be viewed as a modest sign of reduced exposure in one institutional holding. Ryanair Discloses BlackRock Stake Cut Below 3% Threshold

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.