SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC Takes Position in BlackRock $BLK

SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 676 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $724,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Shum Financial Group Inc. grew its position in BlackRock by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Shum Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,183 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,336,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME now owns 321 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Rather & Kittrell Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Rather & Kittrell Inc. now owns 430 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $461,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 755 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $808,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the period. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 23.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 52 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of BLK opened at $1,017.36 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $1,038.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,051.51. The company has a current ratio of 4.09, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.42. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $917.39 and a 12-month high of $1,219.94.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.40 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $6.70 billion during 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.64 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that BlackRock will post 52.8 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,056.60, for a total value of $9,233,627.40. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 210,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $222,082,527.60. This represents a 3.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was 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 directly owned 230,516 shares in the company, valued at $242,168,583.80. The trade was a 12.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Trending Headlines about BlackRock

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 recently issued reports on BLK. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,351.00 to $1,199.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,235.00 to $1,270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of BlackRock from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.