PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Buys 8,013 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 363,633 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 8,013 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned 0.23% of BlackRock worth $349,710,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $15,051,846,000 after acquiring an additional 221,123 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,264,545 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $6,705,193,000 after purchasing an additional 33,752 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 5,190.3% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,490,422 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,876,618,000 after purchasing an additional 5,386,640 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,197,904 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,563,524,000 after purchasing an additional 149,902 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in BlackRock by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,838,937 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,108,968,000 after purchasing an additional 12,019 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BlackRock stock opened at $1,037.31 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 4.09 and a quick ratio of 4.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $1,032.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,042.37. BlackRock has a 52-week low of $917.39 and a 52-week high of $1,219.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.43.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $13.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $12.69 by $1.22. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.09% and a return on equity of 15.01%. The company had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $12.05 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 55.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $5.73 per share. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on BLK shares. Zacks Research raised shares of BlackRock from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,145.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a report on Friday, July 10th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,383.00 to $1,488.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,304.29.

More BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock-led infrastructure vehicles completed the acquisition of Aligned Data Centers and are committing an additional $5 billion in growth capital, reinforcing BLK’s exposure to the AI buildout and alternative-asset fee opportunities. AIP, MGX and BlackRock’s GIP Close Acquisition of Aligned Data Centers
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock Canada announced monthly July cash distributions across a wide slate of iShares ETFs, underscoring the strength and recurring income appeal of its ETF franchise. BlackRock Canada Announces July Cash Distributions for the iShares ETFs
• Positive Sentiment: Investor interest in BlackRock’s Ethereum products remains strong, with reports of fresh inflows into ETHA and a new, similar ether fund that adds another monetizable product in digital assets. Forget ETHA. iShares’ Other Ether Fund Is Nearly Identical, Except It Pays You
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Larry Fink’s comments that AI growth is constrained by electricity, plus New York’s data-center moratorium, keep attention on power bottlenecks for the AI infrastructure theme BlackRock is investing behind. Larry Fink Says AI Needs More Electricity. Google Is Trying To Need Less Of It.
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock’s ETF and asset-management announcements, including distribution updates and product coverage, are broadly supportive but not likely to move the stock on their own. BlackRock® Canada Announces July Cash Distributions for the iShares® ETFs
• Negative Sentiment: Some recent headlines note BlackRock reducing a few holdings and broader financial-sector weakness, which may add mild pressure, but these appear less important than the positive infrastructure and ETF news. Major Shareholder Announcement

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, 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 value of $35,613,645.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 230,516 shares in the company, valued at $242,168,583.80. The trade was a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,056.60, for a total transaction of $9,233,627.40. Following the sale, the president directly owned 210,186 shares in the company, valued at $222,082,527.60. This represents a 3.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.