Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Has $35.92 Million Stock Position in BlackRock $BLK

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS decreased its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 33,563 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,020 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $35,924,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,062,677 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $15,051,846,000 after acquiring an additional 221,123 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,167,460 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,374,394,000 after acquiring an additional 27,640 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth $2,742,680,000. 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 worth $2,146,663,000 after acquiring an additional 10,591 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oak Harvest Investment Services grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 12,176.1% in 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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. 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 accessible through this link. Also, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.92% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.1%

BLK opened at $1,045.88 on Friday. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $917.39 and a fifty-two week high of $1,219.94. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $1,029.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,053.69. The company has a market capitalization of $162.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.44.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.40% and a return on equity of 14.74%. The firm 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 company earned $9.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 52.8 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

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

Key Stories Impacting BlackRock

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,235.00 to $1,270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,351.00 to $1,199.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. CICC Research lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,220.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. One investment 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,269.06.

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.