U S Wealth Group LLC. Acquires 685 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

U S Wealth Group LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 26.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,260 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 685 shares during the period. BlackRock comprises approximately 1.5% of U S Wealth Group LLC.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. U S Wealth Group LLC.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $3,135,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in BlackRock by 5.1% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 49,801 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $47,887,000 after acquiring an additional 2,398 shares during the period. National Pension Service raised its holdings in BlackRock by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 327,771 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $315,171,000 after purchasing an additional 6,675 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP raised its holdings in BlackRock by 34.6% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 8,415 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $8,092,000 after purchasing an additional 2,165 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 7,193 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $6,916,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 15.6% in the 2nd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,076 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,919,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BLK shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,383.00 to $1,488.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. UBS Group increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,270.00 to $1,320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut BlackRock from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,340.00 to $1,450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,311.06.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE BLK opened at $1,063.01 on Friday. BlackRock has a 12 month low of $917.39 and a 12 month high of $1,219.94. The stock has a market cap of $164.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.41. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $1,102.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,049.30. 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 (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $13.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%.BlackRock’s quarterly revenue was up 30.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $12.05 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 55.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a $5.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. BlackRock’s payout ratio is 54.78%.

Trending Headlines about BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s iShares investment strategy leadership said artificial intelligence remains a long-term opportunity following strong second-quarter earnings across the sector. Continued investor interest in AI-focused ETFs could support flows and fee revenue for the asset manager. What comes next for ETF investors staked in the AI trade in Q3?
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock-managed funds are participating in a roughly $1 billion equity investment in Adani Airport Holdings. The transaction expands BlackRock’s exposure to India’s infrastructure growth and may generate additional asset-management activity, although the investment itself is made for clients rather than directly by BlackRock. Adani Airports to raise approximately $1 billion
• Neutral Sentiment: A report highlighted BlackRock’s technology-focused closed-end funds, including one trading at a discount and offering substantial monthly distributions. The coverage could increase visibility for BlackRock products, but the distributions and market discount primarily affect fund investors rather than BlackRock’s corporate earnings. BlackRock runs a tech fund with monthly income
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock commentary indicated that investors are moving away from the traditional 60/40 portfolio mix. This could benefit alternative assets and broader product diversification, but it also signals changing allocation preferences that may pressure conventional fixed-income and equity strategies. Investors are moving away from the 60/40 portfolio mix
• Negative Sentiment: The Rosen Law Firm announced an investigation into potential securities claims involving BlackRock mutual funds, alleging that investors may have received materially misleading information. The notice does not establish wrongdoing, but it adds litigation and reputational risk that could weigh on sentiment. BlackRock investor legal investigation

About BlackRock

BlackRock, Inc is a global investment management and financial technology company serving institutional and individual investors, governments, and financial professionals. The company offers a range of investment products and services, including mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, separately managed accounts, and alternative investments across equities, fixed income, multi-asset, and other strategies.

BlackRock is also known for its iShares brand of exchange-traded funds, which provides access to markets and asset classes worldwide.