Covington Investment Advisors Inc. Purchases Shares of 13,172 BlackRock $BLK

Covington Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 13,172 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $12,666,000. BlackRock accounts for 1.6% of Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Birchbrook Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on BLK. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,298.00 to $1,320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,270.00 to $1,320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,389.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of BlackRock from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,311.06.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $1,157.28 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 3.59, a quick ratio of 3.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,067.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,043.70. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $917.39 and a 1-year high of $1,219.94. The stock has a market cap of $179.23 billion, a PE ratio of 27.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.42.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $13.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $12.69 by $1.22. The firm had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.73 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.09% and a return on equity of 14.90%. The business’s revenue was up 30.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $12.05 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 55.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid a $5.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.78%.

More BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong Bitcoin ETF demand could support fee revenue. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust led recent U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF inflows, including $284.7 million in one session and $588.5 million over three days. Continued cryptocurrency demand could increase assets under management and fee income. Bitcoin ETF Inflows Hit $517M While BTC Tests Key Resistance
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend appeal is drawing investor attention. A recent analysis describes BlackRock as an attractive dividend stock, reinforcing the company’s appeal to income-oriented investors after its latest quarter exceeded expectations on both earnings and revenue. Why BlackRock Is a Great Dividend Stock Right Now
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock continues deploying capital and expanding alternative-asset exposure. The firm and Oaktree seized debt-laden movie servicer MBS, highlighting potential opportunities in distressed and private credit markets, though such investments also carry execution risk. BlackRock, Oaktree Seize Debt-Laden Movie Servicer MBS
• Neutral Sentiment: Large Qiagen stake creates potential strategic upside but adds concentration risk. Dutch regulatory filings show BlackRock owns roughly 11.5% of Qiagen’s capital and more than 12% of its voting rights. The holding demonstrates significant investment activity, but the filings do not indicate a change in BlackRock’s operating outlook. BlackRock Reveals Stake in Qiagen
• Negative Sentiment: A law firm’s investigation remains an overhang. Rosen Law Firm is seeking investors who may have suffered losses in BlackRock mutual funds amid allegations that business information was materially misleading. This is only an investigation announcement, not a finding of wrongdoing, but it could create reputational and legal risk. BlackRock Investor News

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.