Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE Makes New $2.31 Million Investment in BlackRock $BLK

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE bought a new position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 2,398 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $2,306,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Shum Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Shum Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,183 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,336,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME now owns 321 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $344,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Rather & Kittrell Inc. lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Rather & Kittrell Inc. now owns 430 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $461,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. boosted its stake in BlackRock by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 755 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $808,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the period. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 23.8% during the third 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. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The U.S. Treasury selected two BlackRock iShares ETFs — IVV and ITOT — for the new “Trump Accounts” savings program, which could expand long-term asset inflows and reinforce BlackRock’s ETF leadership. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock also said it is updating its closed-end fund discount management programs, a move that may support investor confidence in parts of its product lineup and capital-return strategy. Yahoo Finance article
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley described the setup for traditional asset managers, including BlackRock, as favorable heading into Q2 results, suggesting the company could benefit from improving sentiment in the financial sector. Yahoo Finance article
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock announced that Phil Tseng is leaving as CEO of BlackRock TCP Capital / its private credit fund unit, a management change that adds uncertainty but is not yet a quantified financial hit. Seeking Alpha article
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock’s investment outlook turned more cautious on emerging-market equities while favoring euro-zone bonds and shorter-duration positioning, reflecting a portfolio shift rather than a direct hit to earnings. Yahoo Finance article
• Negative Sentiment: BlackRock’s private credit business is drawing scrutiny after Bloomberg reported its fund CEO is departing amid valuation probes, losses, and markdowns, which could pressure sentiment around the firm’s alternatives push. Yahoo Finance article
• Negative Sentiment: BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF IBIT has faced sizable outflows recently, highlighting softer institutional demand in crypto and creating a small drag on sentiment around the firm’s digital-asset exposure. Blockonomi article

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on BLK shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on BlackRock from $1,351.00 to $1,199.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings raised BlackRock from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,269.00 to $1,128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 13th. One research 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,269.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of BlackRock 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 approximately $242,168,583.80. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $980.85 on Thursday. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,040.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,047.00. The company has a market cap of $152.26 billion, a PE ratio of 24.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.43. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $917.39 and a 12-month high of $1,219.94.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $12.40 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.56 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 24.40%.The firm’s revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.64 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 53.4 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a $5.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.53%.

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.