California State Teachers Retirement System Sells 5,933 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

California State Teachers Retirement System cut its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 220,947 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 5,933 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.14% of BlackRock worth $212,487,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Resources Management Corp CT ADV increased its position in BlackRock by 0.3% during the first quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 13,865 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $13,334,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 11.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,825 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,411,000 after buying an additional 1,146 shares during the last quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 6.2% in the first quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP now owns 1,007 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $968,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Ltd boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Ltd now owns 907 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $872,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 73,830 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $71,003,000 after acquiring an additional 8,988 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded BlackRock from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,238.00 to $1,105.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,340.00 to $1,450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $1,389.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,304.29.

BlackRock Trading Up 3.5%

BLK stock opened at $1,099.21 on Wednesday. BlackRock has a 52 week low of $917.39 and a 52 week high of $1,219.94. The company has a market capitalization of $170.37 billion, a PE ratio of 26.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.43. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,030.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,041.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a current ratio of 4.09.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $13.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $12.69 by $1.22. The business had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.73 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.09% and a return on equity of 15.01%. The business’s revenue was up 30.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $12.05 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 55.63 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a $5.73 dividend. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is presently 54.78%.

Key BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Major AI infrastructure partnership: BlackRock and Meta Platforms formed an approximately $14 billion venture to develop and operate a one-gigawatt data center campus in El Paso, Texas. BlackRock-managed funds will own 80%, while Meta retains 20% and will operate the facility, which is expected to come online in 2028. The deal highlights BlackRock’s opportunity to earn investment-management and infrastructure-related fees from the multiyear AI buildout. Meta, BlackRock partner on $14 billion El Paso data center
• Positive Sentiment: Strong financing demand: BlackRock reportedly arranged roughly $12.3 billion in senior secured bonds for the project, with the debt rallying before pricing. The successful financing supports the view that BlackRock can scale its Global Infrastructure Partners and HPS platforms while channeling institutional capital into digital infrastructure. BlackRock Dodges AI Bond Flop as $12.3 Billion Debt Deal Rallies
• Positive Sentiment: ETF and crypto-related momentum: BlackRock’s systematic-alternatives ETF reportedly attracted significant inflows, while the firm’s crypto portfolio gained nearly $5 billion in July. These developments reinforce the company’s ability to capture demand across newer investment products, although crypto-related gains may be volatile. BlackRock Stuffed a Hedge Fund Inside an ETF
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock’s latest quarterly results showed substantial earnings and revenue beats, with revenue up 30.6% year over year, but analysts noted that the stock may already reflect much of the company’s record inflow and earnings strength. BlackRock Stock Could Be Fully Priced Following Record Inflows
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced renewed outflows late last week, led by BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust. Continued weakness could reduce fee revenue and weigh on sentiment toward the firm’s crypto franchise. Bitcoin ETFs End Inflow Streak as Fed Rate Concerns Mount

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.