34,157 Shares in BlackRock $BLK Acquired by SEB Asset Management AB

SEB Asset Management AB purchased a new position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 34,157 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $32,849,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. World Equity Group Inc. acquired a new position in BlackRock in the 1st quarter worth $258,000. AIA Group Ltd boosted its position in BlackRock by 16.5% in the 1st quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 9,900 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $9,521,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Spartan Wealth Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the first quarter valued at about $213,000. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.0% during the first quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,750 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,683,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 8.7% during the first quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,367 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,315,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,056.60, for a total value of $9,233,627.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 210,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $222,082,527.60. The trade was a 3.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BLK stock opened at $1,072.30 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,033.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,042.82. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $917.39 and a 12-month high of $1,219.94. The firm has a market cap of $166.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 4.09, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $13.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.69 by $1.22. The firm had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.73 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.09% and a return on equity of 15.01%. The firm’s revenue was up 30.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $12.05 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 55.24 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were given a dividend of $5.73 per share. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.78%.

Key BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock reported record second-quarter results, with revenue and earnings beating Wall Street estimates and client assets reaching a new high, highlighting strong operating momentum. Blackrock CEO Says Client Demand Has ‘Never Been Greater’ as Assets Reach Record $15.3 Trillion
• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets raised its price target on BlackRock to $1,300 and kept an outperform view, while other firms also lifted targets after the earnings beat, signaling rising Street confidence. BlackRock price target raised by BMO Capital Markets
• Positive Sentiment: J.P. Morgan upgraded BlackRock to overweight/buy-equivalent and Bank of America reiterated a buy rating, citing growth opportunities in tokenization, private markets, direct indexing, and automation-led margin expansion. JP Morgan upgrades BlackRock to buy-equivalent after Q2 earnings
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s iShares business surpassed $6 trillion in assets, and Bitcoin ETF inflows continued to support the firm’s fast-growing ETF platform, reinforcing a strong fee-based growth story. BlackRock iShares Surpasses $6 Trillion in Assets
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles highlighted BlackRock’s expanding ownership stakes in other companies and broader market commentary, but these items are not likely to materially move BLK shares on their own.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on BlackRock from $1,351.00 to $1,199.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,258.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of BlackRock from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $1,165.00 to $1,364.00 in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,304.29.

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.