Entropy Technologies LP Takes $9.14 Million Position in BlackRock $BLK

Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 8,541 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $9,142,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Birchbrook Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 230,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $242,168,583.80. This trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the president directly owned 210,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $222,082,527.60. The trade was a 3.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 1.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective 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. Barclays increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,290.00 to $1,310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,181.00 to $1,313.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. UBS Group increased their target price 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,368.00 to $1,393.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,264.61.

BlackRock Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $1,031.45 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $160.11 billion, a PE ratio of 25.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.42. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $917.39 and a 12-month high of $1,219.94. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,039.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,051.37. The company has a quick ratio of 4.09, a current ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $12.40 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.56 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.40% and a return on equity of 14.74%. BlackRock’s revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.64 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 52.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.53%.

BlackRock News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Negative Sentiment: BlackRock’s private-credit funds saw redemption requests far above the cap, and the firm is again limiting withdrawals, which could weigh on sentiment around its alternatives business. Reuters article
• Negative Sentiment: Bloomberg and other reports said BlackRock’s HPS/HLEND private-credit vehicles capped redemptions after investors sought to withdraw more than 5%, underscoring continued pressure in the funds. Bloomberg article
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock also reported buying additional Bitcoin and Ethereum holdings, and it is preparing an income-focused Bitcoin ETF, highlighting continued growth in its digital-asset franchise. Finbold article
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that BlackRock may seek about $5 billion of SpaceX IPO shares point to strong client demand and product breadth, but this is not as immediate a driver as the redemption headlines. Reuters article

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.