Burkett Asset Management Ltd Buys New Stake in BlackRock $BLK

Burkett Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 551 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $590,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in BlackRock by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,062,677 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $15,051,846,000 after purchasing an additional 221,123 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in BlackRock by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,838,937 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,108,968,000 after purchasing an additional 12,019 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in BlackRock by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,167,460 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,374,394,000 after purchasing an additional 27,640 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at $2,742,680,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in BlackRock by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,070,468 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,216,105,000 after purchasing an additional 253,314 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,050.55, for a total transaction of $35,613,645.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 230,516 shares in the company, valued at $242,168,583.80. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the president owned 210,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $222,082,527.60. This trade represents a 3.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $1,017.36 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 quick ratio of 4.09 and a current ratio of 4.09. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,038.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,051.51. The company has a market cap of $157.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.42.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.64 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that BlackRock will post 52.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $5.73 per share. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is 57.53%.

More BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock is expanding its ETF lineup with new thematic products, including a space-focused fund in Europe/UK and a planned income-paying Bitcoin ETF, reinforcing its leadership in fast-growing areas of asset management. How Investors Are Reacting To BlackRock (BLK) Expanding Into Space ETFs And Digital Assets
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that BlackRock is seeking to buy at least $5 billion of SpaceX IPO shares highlight its willingness to back high-profile alternative assets and could support fee-generating opportunities if the deal moves forward. BlackRock seeks to buy at least $5 billion in SpaceX IPO shares, WSJ reports
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock continues to dominate Bitcoin ETF flows with Fidelity, suggesting its crypto products are capturing the bulk of investor demand in the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF market. BlackRock and Fidelity Dominate U.S. Bitcoin ETF Flows
• Neutral Sentiment: The Supreme Court’s ruling shielding investment funds from some shareholder lawsuits is broadly supportive for the asset-management industry, though the direct impact on BlackRock is limited. Supreme Court Shields Investment Funds From Shareholder Lawsuits
• Neutral Sentiment: Financial stocks were firmer in afternoon trading, creating a generally supportive backdrop for BlackRock, although the move appears driven by sector rotation rather than company-specific news. Sector Update: Financial Stocks Rise Late Afternoon
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage noted BlackRock’s crypto portfolio declined by more than $12 billion early in June and that its Bitcoin holdings were sold while Ethereum was accumulated, which could raise questions about near-term digital-asset mark-to-market performance. BlackRock crypto portfolio falls by over $12 billion in early June

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BLK. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,351.00 to $1,199.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective 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. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of BlackRock from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,290.00 to $1,310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,264.61.

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.