First Financial Bankshares Inc Has $73.56 Million Holdings in BlackRock $BLK

First Financial Bankshares Inc raised its holdings in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,723 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 584 shares during the period. BlackRock comprises about 1.5% of First Financial Bankshares Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. First Financial Bankshares Inc’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $73,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Shum Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in BlackRock by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Shum Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,183 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,336,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the period. First Bancorp Inc ME raised its holdings in BlackRock by 2.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Rather & Kittrell Inc. raised its holdings in BlackRock by 2.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. raised its holdings in BlackRock by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 755 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $808,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its stake in BlackRock by 23.8% in the third quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 52 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $222,082,527.60. The trade was a 3.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.92% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock News Roundup

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

Several analysts have issued reports on BLK shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded BlackRock from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on BlackRock from $1,269.00 to $1,128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 13th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on BlackRock from $1,238.00 to $1,105.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. 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 report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on BlackRock from $1,351.00 to $1,199.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, BlackRock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,264.61.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BLK stock opened at $1,017.36 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $1,038.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,051.51. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $917.39 and a 1-year high of $1,219.94. 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 cap of $157.93 billion, a PE ratio of 25.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.42.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $12.40 by $0.13. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 24.40%.The firm had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.56 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $9.64 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that BlackRock will post 52.8 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

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