BlackRock $BLK Holdings Lowered by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 24.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 74,212 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 23,726 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $78,691,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BLK. Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority bought a new stake in BlackRock in the second quarter valued at about $129,138,253,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in BlackRock in the second quarter valued at about $9,747,857,000. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd lifted its stake in BlackRock by 4.7% in the first quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 5,330,492 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,126,387,000 after buying an additional 237,667 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in BlackRock by 0.7% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,232,973 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,032,603,000 after buying an additional 35,069 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 23.3% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,495,074 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,322,283,000 after buying an additional 850,406 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.4%

BlackRock stock traded up $5.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $1,221.82. 415,883 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 703,448. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,113.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,067.86. The company has a quick ratio of 3.44, a current ratio of 3.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $188.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.78, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.37. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $917.39 and a fifty-two week high of $1,242.12.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The asset manager reported $15.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $14.32 by $1.61. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 24.22%. The firm had revenue of $7.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $8.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 19.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 57.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLK has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on BlackRock from $1,435.00 to $1,449.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,420.00 to $1,410.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. TD Cowen raised shares of BlackRock from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $1,212.00 to $1,405.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,275.00 price objective (down from $1,300.00) on shares of BlackRock in a report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of BlackRock from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,342.25.

Recent BlackRock Headlines

These are some of the BLK headlines that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s private-markets expansion, acquisitions and record $15.49 trillion in assets under management are cited as growth drivers. The caveat: rising expenses could temper the benefit. Article: BlackRock’s Private Markets Expansion
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock-managed funds disclosed large Q3 positions in Exxon Mobil, Oneok and SK hynix. These are client-fund holdings reported in a 13F, not necessarily investments on BlackRock’s own balance sheet, so the disclosures have limited direct implications for BLK. Article: BlackRock’s XOM position
• Negative Sentiment: Investors pulled $269.7 million from BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) on Wednesday, bringing outflows to more than $2 billion over nine sessions. Sustained redemptions could weigh on the fund’s assets and related fee revenue. Article: BlackRock Bitcoin ETF outflows hit $2B

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other news, Director Rachel Lord sold 7,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,219.55, for a total transaction of $8,536,850.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,065 shares in the company, valued at $7,396,570.75. The trade was a 53.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.92% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

BlackRock Company Profile

BlackRock, Inc. is a global investment management and financial technology company serving individuals, institutions, governments and other organizations. Founded in 1988, the company is headquartered in New York City and operates in markets around the world. BlackRock offers investment products and services across asset classes, including equities, fixed income, cash management and alternative investments. Its offerings include exchange-traded funds and other funds under the iShares brand, as well as portfolio management, investment advisory and risk management services.