National Pension Service Grows Stock Holdings in BlackRock $BLK

National Pension Service raised its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 318,324 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,425 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $340,715,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. raised its position in BlackRock by 866.7% during the third quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 29 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Birchbrook Inc. purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,050.55, for a total transaction of $35,613,645.00. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were 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 represents a 3.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on BLK shares. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,220.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,181.00 to $1,313.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,238.00 to $1,105.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, CICC Research lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,269.06.

BlackRock Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $1,046.39 on Friday. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $917.39 and a 1 year high of $1,219.94. The company has a market cap of $162.43 billion, a PE ratio of 26.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 4.09 and a quick ratio of 4.09. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $1,028.21 and its 200 day moving average is $1,053.75.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.40 by $0.13. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 24.40%.The company had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.64 EPS. BlackRock’s revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 52.8 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $5.73 per share. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 57.53%.

BlackRock News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Negative Sentiment: BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) posted near-record outflows as Bitcoin dropped below key levels, signaling weaker demand for one of the firm’s most visible growth products. BlackRock Bitcoin ETF sees near-record outflows as BTC dips below $75K
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of a mysterious trader dumping about $1 billion from a BlackRock ETF and a separate large IBIT selloff reinforced concerns that institutional investors are de-risking crypto exposure. Mysterious trader dumps $1B from BlackRock ETF
• Negative Sentiment: BlackRock’s stock also fell as the broader market advanced, suggesting investors may be rotating out of the name amid short-term crypto-related noise. BlackRock (BLK) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Outside crypto, BlackRock continues to benefit from scale and strong earnings momentum, with recent quarterly results beating estimates and revenue rising sharply year over year.

BlackRock Company 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.