Great Lakes Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 155,091 BlackRock $BLK

Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 155,091 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $149,132,000. BlackRock accounts for 1.1% of Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rather & Kittrell Inc. increased its holdings in BlackRock by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Rather & Kittrell Inc. now owns 430 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $461,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 755 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $808,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 212 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Manske Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Manske Wealth Management now owns 345 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gibson Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Gibson Capital LLC now owns 308 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on BLK. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded BlackRock from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on BlackRock from $1,383.00 to $1,488.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,270.00 to $1,320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,298.00 to $1,320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $1,311.06.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.8%

BlackRock stock opened at $1,155.78 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,059.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,043.05. The company has a current ratio of 3.59, a quick ratio of 3.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $917.39 and a 1-year high of $1,219.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.42.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $13.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.69 by $1.22. The firm had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.73 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.90% and a net margin of 24.09%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $12.05 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that BlackRock will post 55.63 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid a $5.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.78%.

More BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bitcoin strategy remains supportive: BlackRock said Bitcoin’s investment case is unchanged despite its recent decline, maintaining that a small allocation—up to 2% of a portfolio—can provide diversification. The comments reinforce confidence in BlackRock’s digital-asset offerings, including the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT). Bitcoin’s Investment Case Hasn’t Changed, BlackRock Says
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional interest in IBIT: A filing showed Jane Street held more than $1 billion in spot Bitcoin ETF shares as of June 30, including approximately $828 million in BlackRock’s IBIT. Although the snapshot does not reflect current holdings, it highlights institutional adoption of BlackRock’s crypto ETF. Jane Street Reports Over $1 Billion in Bitcoin ETF Shares
• Positive Sentiment: Technical outlook improved: BlackRock’s 50-day moving average recently moved above its 200-day average, forming a “golden cross,” a signal that can attract momentum-oriented investors. BlackRock Technical Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Income appeal: BlackRock continues to be highlighted as a dividend-paying investment manager with favorable analyst sentiment and potential price-target upside. Dividend Stocks and Income Investing
• Neutral Sentiment: Portfolio disclosure: BlackRock was identified as a major shareholder of Qiagen, but the regulatory filing primarily reflects an investment holding and does not indicate a material change to BlackRock’s operating outlook. BlackRock Revealed as Major Qiagen Shareholder
• Negative Sentiment: Data-center insurance risk: BlackRock and Meta’s $14 billion Texas data-center project reportedly faces an insurance gap, potentially exposing lenders and investors to substantial losses from catastrophic events. The issue could raise concerns about risk management and financing for large infrastructure investments. Meta and BlackRock Data Center Insurance Risk

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.