North Dallas Bank & Trust Co. Takes $2.75 Million Position in BlackRock $BLK

North Dallas Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 2,571 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $2,752,000. BlackRock comprises about 1.8% of North Dallas Bank & Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,062,677 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $15,051,846,000 after acquiring an additional 221,123 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,838,937 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,108,968,000 after acquiring an additional 12,019 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,167,460 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,374,394,000 after acquiring an additional 27,640 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,742,680,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 13.9% in the 4th 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 institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on BLK shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on BlackRock from $1,181.00 to $1,313.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Barclays boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,290.00 to $1,310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. 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 report on Monday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,368.00 to $1,393.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,264.61.

BlackRock Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE:BLK opened at $1,011.46 on Wednesday. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $1,035.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,051.35. The company has a market cap of $157.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.42.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.40 by $0.13. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 24.40%.The firm had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $9.64 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that BlackRock will post 52.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,050.55, for a total value of $35,613,645.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 230,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $242,168,583.80. The trade was a 12.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.92% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock launched a new space-focused ETF for European investors, the iShares Space Technologies UCITS ETF (STAR), with a fast-track IPO inclusion feature that could help attract demand for exposure to newly public space companies. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The new STAR ETF and related coverage highlight BlackRock’s ability to keep expanding its lineup in high-growth thematic investing, which supports the company’s fee-generating asset-gathering story. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Interactive Brokers began offering BlackRock ETFs in European savings plans, which broadens distribution and could help drive additional inflows into BlackRock funds. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock continues to be highlighted as a leading ETF provider with multiple funds showing upside potential, reinforcing the firm’s strong franchise in the ETF market. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock’s commentary on “mega forces” and its market outlook adds to investor attention, but this is more about long-term strategy than an immediate earnings catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Bitcoin ETF outflows remain a headwind, and BlackRock’s IBIT reportedly led exits during a week of heavy redemptions, which could weigh on sentiment around its crypto-related ETF business. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Evercore trimmed its price target on BlackRock, which may slightly temper enthusiasm even though the firm kept an outperform rating. Article Title

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.