QRG Capital Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in BlackRock $BLK

QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 6.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,495 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 726 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $12,017,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,615,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its stake in BlackRock by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. acquired a new position in BlackRock during the second quarter worth $259,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the second quarter worth $548,000. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the second quarter worth $98,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:BLK opened at $994.50 on Friday. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $917.39 and a 12-month high of $1,219.94. The firm has a market cap of $154.38 billion, a PE ratio of 24.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 4.09, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $1,038.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,045.97.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $12.40 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.56 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 24.40%.BlackRock’s revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $9.64 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 53.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

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

BlackRock News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s ETFs were included in the Treasury’s approved lineup for Trump Accounts, potentially expanding assets and visibility for the firm’s flagship products. Reference
• Positive Sentiment: Articles highlighted continued analyst optimism around BlackRock’s earnings setup, with expectations that the company could beat estimates again when it reports next quarter. Article: Will BlackRock (BLK) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report?
• Positive Sentiment: Tokenized versions of BlackRock’s IVV ETF were launched by Ondo Finance under SEC guidance, reinforcing BlackRock’s relevance in the growing onchain asset market. Article: BlackRock (BLK) Stock Fair Value Edges Higher As Analysts Debate Earnings And Flows
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock also disclosed a small reduction in its voting stake in Umicore, but the filing appears routine and unlikely to materially affect BLK shares. Article: Umicore – Transparency notification by BlackRock, Inc.
• Neutral Sentiment: Crypto headlines were mixed, with Bitcoin ETF outflows and broader crypto weakness offset by growing demand for BlackRock’s tokenized BUIDL product. Article: Yield-bearing stablecoin slowdown ends three-year run for crypto-native products

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on BlackRock from $1,351.00 to $1,199.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,181.00 to $1,313.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,269.00 to $1,128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,235.00 to $1,270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. One 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, BlackRock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,269.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BlackRock news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the business’s 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 transaction of $35,613,645.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 230,516 shares in the company, valued at $242,168,583.80. The trade was a 12.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the business’s 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 transaction of $9,233,627.40. Following the transaction, the president owned 210,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $222,082,527.60. This trade represents a 3.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.92% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.