Conning Inc. Has $33.39 Million Position in BlackRock $BLK

Conning Inc. boosted its position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 31,197 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 758 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $33,391,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,062,677 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $15,051,846,000 after buying an additional 221,123 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 0.6% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,841,088 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,146,663,000 after acquiring an additional 10,591 shares in the last quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services increased its position in BlackRock by 12,176.1% during the fourth quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 1,595,153 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,707,356,000 after acquiring an additional 1,582,159 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in BlackRock by 13.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,213,561 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,414,854,000 after acquiring an additional 143,126 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in BlackRock by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 913,121 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,064,580,000 after purchasing an additional 39,412 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners unit teamed up with Temasek, Abu Dhabi-linked investors and others to target up to $30 billion in infrastructure deals, reinforcing BlackRock’s push into higher-fee private markets and long-duration assets. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan reportedly increased its exposure to BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) by 174% in Q1, signaling institutional demand for BlackRock’s fast-growing crypto ETF franchise. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock is expanding its tokenized money-market product, BUIDL, with new collateral-use partnerships, underscoring momentum in its digital-asset infrastructure strategy. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst-style coverage and follow-up commentary continue to frame BlackRock as a top dividend and financial-giant pick, which can support sentiment around the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock’s Q1 portfolio disclosure showed large changes in holdings, including additions to ETFs and select names, but this is more a view into portfolio positioning than a direct earnings driver. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock executives continued to discuss inflation, credit yields, and market volatility; these comments help explain the macro backdrop, but they are not direct catalysts by themselves. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock Canada announced routine monthly iShares ETF cash distributions, which is standard operating news with limited direct impact on BLK shares. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF, IBIT, led a large wave of crypto ETF outflows as Bitcoin slipped back under $80,000, which could pressure near-term sentiment around the firm’s digital-asset products. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: BlackRock CEO Larry Fink’s warning that AI could create a “K economy” and force market consolidation is more of a macro caution than a direct company problem, but it may weigh on broad risk sentiment. Article Title

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the president owned 210,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $222,082,527.60. This trade represents a 3.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 385 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,084.91, for a total value of $417,690.35. Following the sale, the director owned 3,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,618,174.85. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 45,249 shares of company stock valued at $47,671,714 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.92% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $1,105.61 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $1,008.57 and a 200-day moving average of $1,055.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.62 billion, a PE ratio of 27.75, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 4.09, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. BlackRock has a 12 month low of $917.39 and a 12 month high of $1,219.94.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $12.40 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.56 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.40% and a return on equity of 14.74%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.64 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 52.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. CICC Research increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of BlackRock from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on BlackRock from $1,290.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on BlackRock from $1,351.00 to $1,199.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,181.00 to $1,313.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,269.06.

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.