North Star Asset Management Inc. Purchases New Stake in BlackRock $BLK

North Star Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 623 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $599,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BLK. RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new position in BlackRock during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on BLK shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded BlackRock from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Zacks Research lowered shares of BlackRock from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $1,258.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,340.00 to $1,450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,311.06.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $1,162.58 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,079.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,047.58. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $917.39 and a fifty-two week high of $1,219.94. The company has a market capitalization of $180.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 3.59 and a current ratio of 3.59.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.73 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.90% and a net margin of 24.09%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 30.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $12.05 EPS. Analysts expect that BlackRock will post 55.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 54.78%.

More BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s cryptocurrency portfolio reportedly gained more than $15 billion in August, while the firm purchased more than $3.1 billion of Bitcoin and Ethereum-linked assets over eight days. Rising crypto prices and strong inflows into BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs could increase fee revenue and reinforce its position in digital-asset investing. BlackRock cryptocurrency portfolio up by over $15 billion so far in August
• Positive Sentiment: A newer BlackRock ETF is reportedly up 19% this year, outperforming JPMorgan’s popular JEPQ while charging the same fee. Better-performing products may help BlackRock attract assets and expand recurring management fees. BlackRock ETF performance comparison
• Positive Sentiment: Adroit Trading Technologies announced integration with BlackRock’s Aladdin platform, expanding access to cross-asset execution tools for mutual clients. The agreement supports Aladdin’s reach and could modestly strengthen BlackRock’s technology-related revenue opportunity. Adroit Trading Technologies Aladdin integration
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock executives continue to describe Bitcoin as a potential hedge against rising U.S. debt and deficits and say institutional demand is strengthening. This supports the firm’s broader strategy of positioning its ETFs and investment products around digital assets.
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock disclosed a significant stake in QIAGEN (QGEN) through a filing with the Dutch financial regulator. The investment may reflect portfolio-management activity, but it is not expected to have a material near-term effect on BLK earnings. BlackRock stake in QIAGEN
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock participated in Piramal Finance’s heavily oversubscribed Indian share offering, highlighting continued institutional demand for its investment-management capabilities but providing limited direct impact on BLK’s financial results.
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock’s view that the CLARITY Act is less critical for Bitcoin than for other cryptocurrencies suggests the company expects Bitcoin’s institutional adoption to continue even amid regulatory uncertainty.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded BlackRock from “strong buy” to “hold,” potentially adding valuation pressure after the stock’s substantial advance and recent proximity to its 52-week high.
• Negative Sentiment: The Rosen Law Firm announced an investigation into potential securities claims involving BlackRock mutual funds and allegations of misleading business information. The announcement is not a formal finding of wrongdoing, but it creates legal and reputational overhang for investors. Rosen Law Firm BlackRock investigation

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.