Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. Purchases New Position in BlackRock $BLK

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 74,799 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $80,184,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BLK. Birchbrook Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Finally, Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $1,045.88 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $162.35 billion, a PE ratio of 26.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a current ratio of 4.09. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $917.39 and a fifty-two week high of $1,219.94. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,029.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,053.69.

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

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the firm’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 value of $35,613,645.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 230,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $242,168,583.80. This trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the president owned 210,186 shares in the company, valued at $222,082,527.60. This represents a 3.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,181.00 to $1,313.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Barclays raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,290.00 to $1,310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,238.00 to $1,105.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,269.06.

BlackRock News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several articles framed BlackRock as a strong dividend stock, which can support investor interest in BLK’s income profile and overall quality reputation. Why BlackRock (BLK) is a Great Dividend Stock Right Now
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s recent earnings strength remains a backdrop for the stock, with the company having reported better-than-expected EPS and revenue in its latest quarter. This reinforces confidence in the firm’s fundamentals. BlackRock Scales Back Equities After ‘Generational’ Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock is trimming stock exposure in its model portfolios after a strong run in U.S. equities. That suggests a more cautious near-term stance, but it is more of an asset-allocation decision than a direct hit to BLK’s earnings. BlackRock Scales Back Equities After ‘Generational’ Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Texas is shifting its Bitcoin reserve from BlackRock’s IBIT ETF to direct custody, but the allocation is small and the move reflects a change in custody preference rather than a broad rejection of BlackRock’s crypto platform. Texas Bitcoin reserve plans shift from ETF to direct custody
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw large outflows, and BlackRock’s IBIT accounted for the biggest share of redemptions. That can weigh on sentiment around one of BLK’s most visible growth products. U.S. Bitcoin Spot ETFs Hit by $228M Outflow as IBIT Sees Heavy Exit
• Negative Sentiment: Additional reports said IBIT had near-record outflows as Bitcoin fell below $75,000, suggesting investors are pulling back from the product during the crypto selloff. BlackRock Bitcoin ETF sees near-record outflows as BTC dips below $75K
• Negative Sentiment: Another report described a large single-day withdrawal from a BlackRock ETF, reinforcing concerns that crypto ETF flows are weakening and may be creating short-term pressure on BLK sentiment. Mysterious trader dumps $1B from BlackRock ETF
• Negative Sentiment: BlackRock’s IBIT also saw heavy daily outflows in the latest ETF flow data, which may be contributing to the stock’s softer tone today. Texas Shifts Bitcoin Holdings from ETF to Direct Custody Control

BlackRock 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.