BlackRock $BLK Shares Sold by J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG cut its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 5.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,729 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,800 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $29,545,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,062,677 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $15,051,846,000 after buying an additional 221,123 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in BlackRock by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,264,545 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $6,705,193,000 after acquiring an additional 33,752 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 5,190.3% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,490,422 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,876,618,000 after purchasing an additional 5,386,640 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,197,904 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,563,524,000 after purchasing an additional 149,902 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,838,937 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,108,968,000 after purchasing an additional 12,019 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of BLK opened at $1,036.18 on Monday. BlackRock has a 52-week low of $917.39 and a 52-week high of $1,219.94. The company has a quick ratio of 4.09, a current ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,034.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,043.73. The company has a market capitalization of $160.85 billion, a PE ratio of 26.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.43.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $12.40 by $0.13. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.40% and a return on equity of 14.74%. The firm had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.64 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 53.96 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued 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 dividend yield of 2.2%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on BLK. Weiss Ratings upgraded BlackRock from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,181.00 to $1,313.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on BlackRock from $1,240.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,310.00 to $1,340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,273.33.

Key Headlines Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target on BlackRock and maintained an outperform rating, signaling confidence ahead of earnings.
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays lifted its price target on BlackRock to $1,340 and kept an overweight rating, reflecting expectations for continued business momentum.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect Q2 results to benefit from ETF inflows, higher market levels, and growth in assets under management, which could support earnings and revenue.
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock’s newer crypto-related products, including its Bitcoin income ETF and BUIDL tokenized treasury fund, are attracting attention but are not yet a major earnings driver.
• Neutral Sentiment: Broad crypto ETF outflows were reported, though BlackRock’s IBIT was flat, limiting direct negative impact on the company.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other news, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,056.60, for a total transaction of $9,233,627.40. Following the sale, the president owned 210,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $222,082,527.60. The trade was a 3.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 230,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $242,168,583.80. The trade was a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.92% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.