Montag A & Associates Inc. Purchases 1,236 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 118.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,280 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares during the quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $2,193,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Birchbrook Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. purchased a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on BLK. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,181.00 to $1,313.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Evercore reduced their price target on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,140.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Barclays increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,290.00 to $1,310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,393.00 to $1,430.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,269.44.

Trending Headlines about BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS reiterated a Buy view on BlackRock, saying the company offers an attractive valuation along with a rare mix of growth and defensiveness. UBS also said BlackRock’s upcoming Q2 results should be helped by strong ETF demand, which could support earnings. BlackRock is getting ready to report, and UBS likes what it sees
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock is expanding its ETF lineup with a lower-cost Nasdaq-100 ETF and other new funds, which could help gather assets and support fee revenue over time. BlackRock’s Q2 Results Seen Supported by Strong ETF Demand, UBS Securities Says
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock also expanded Aladdin private-markets benchmarking tools, a move that may strengthen its position in higher-value institutional software and data services. BlackRock Aladdin Expands Preqin Benchmarks and Indices, Advancing Transparency in Private Markets With Common Performance Measurement Standard
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock launched a liquid alternatives UCITS fund and added new private-markets benchmarking features, but these announcements are more likely incremental product updates than immediate stock catalysts. BlackRock launches liquid alternatives UCITS fund
• Neutral Sentiment: The broader financial sector was also weaker in afternoon trading, which may have added some pressure to BLK even as company-specific news remained constructive. Sector Update: Financial Stocks Decline in Afternoon Trading
• Negative Sentiment: One report said BlackRock is reducing AI exposure amid sector volatility, which could be read as a cautious positioning signal for a market segment that has been driving investor enthusiasm. BlackRock reduces AI exposure amid sector volatility: CNBC

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the president owned 210,186 shares in the company, valued at $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 available through this link. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was 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 directly owned 230,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $242,168,583.80. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.92% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK stock opened at $990.39 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. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $917.39 and a 12-month high of $1,219.94. The business’s 50 day moving average is $1,035.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,044.39. The company has a market capitalization of $153.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.43.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.40 by $0.13. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 24.40%.The business had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that BlackRock will post 53.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

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

BlackRock 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.