Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Increases Stake in BlackRock $BLK

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 120.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 115,138 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 63,014 shares during the quarter. BlackRock accounts for 1.6% of Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $124,730,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in BlackRock by 866.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 29 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Collier Financial bought a new position in BlackRock in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in BlackRock in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in BlackRock by 94.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 385 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,084.91, for a total value of $417,690.35. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,618,174.85. This trade represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 5,293 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,084.22, for a total transaction of $5,738,776.46. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 46,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,074,700.70. This trade represents a 10.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 106,911 shares of company stock worth $114,670,698. 1.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

More BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock is drawing interest from investors after reports highlighted its new Aladdin private credit features with Preqin, which could strengthen its data and analytics offering in a growing market and support future asset-management revenue. BlackRock (BLK) Valuation Check As New Aladdin Private Credit Features With Preqin Draw Focus
• Positive Sentiment: CEO Larry Fink’s push for clearer crypto and tokenization rules, along with comments that “compute futures” could become a new asset class, reinforces BlackRock’s reputation as an innovation leader in digital assets and next-generation markets. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink Is Demanding Crypto Regulations. Here’s What It Means for Investors.
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s ETF franchise continues to be highlighted as a major competitive advantage, with articles pointing to lower fees, scale, and liquidity benefits that could keep supporting inflows into iShares products. BlackRock Touts ETFs as Liquidity Antidote to Private Exposure
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock’s philanthropic $30 million Texas workforce initiative may improve brand and public relations, but it is unlikely to move the stock materially in the near term. BlackRock Launches Signature Philanthropic Initiative in Texas with $30M Commitment to Grow Electrical Workforce
• Negative Sentiment: Recent reports that BlackRock cut the value of parts of its private credit portfolio, including markdowns tied to software borrowers, are a reminder that credit risk remains elevated in a softer lending environment. BlackRock cut private credit fund’s value by 5% in first quarter
• Negative Sentiment: News that a BlackRock Asia private credit fund is trying to recover money from a defaulted China loan adds to concerns about underwriting quality and credit performance in the firm’s private markets business. BlackRock Fund Faces Test in Recovering Defaulted China Loan

BlackRock Price Performance

NYSE BLK opened at $1,083.38 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $168.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.19, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.44. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $917.39 and a 1-year 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 2.98. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $1,006.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,056.97.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.64 earnings per share. BlackRock’s revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that BlackRock will post 52.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on BLK shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,296.00 to $1,380.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,235.00 to $1,270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. CICC Research boosted their target price on BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,290.00 to $1,310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,269.06.

About BlackRock

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.