2,001 Shares in BlackRock $BLK Acquired by Harvest Investment Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Harvest Investment Advisors LLC opened a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter, buying 2,001 shares worth about $2.14 million. The stake makes BlackRock 1.2% of the firm’s portfolio and its 24th-largest holding.
• BlackRock insider selling was notable, with CEO Laurence Fink and President Robert Kapito both trimming their holdings in separate transactions totaling tens of millions of dollars.
• The stock has received mostly bullish analyst support, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of about $1,264.61. BlackRock also recently beat quarterly earnings estimates and announced a $5.73 quarterly dividend.

Harvest Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,001 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $2,142,000. BlackRock makes up 1.2% of Harvest Investment Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Birchbrook Inc. acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s top investment executive, Rick Rieder, said Bitcoin is “ultimately going considerably higher,” reinforcing the firm’s bullish stance on digital assets and potentially boosting sentiment around BlackRock’s crypto-linked business opportunities.
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock remains in focus as a large asset manager with a steady dividend profile, with its next quarterly payout due soon, which can appeal to income-focused investors.
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock Canada announced product changes and risk-rating updates for several iShares ETFs, reflecting routine portfolio maintenance and index transitions rather than a major business shift.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles highlighted BlackRock commentary on AI, private markets, and a broader market rotation out of cash, which may support the long-term investment case but do not directly change near-term fundamentals.
• Negative Sentiment: BlackRock is cutting nearly 200 jobs globally, part of a continued “rightsizing” effort tied to efficiency and growth initiatives; while modest in scale, the repeated layoffs may signal management is still trimming costs aggressively.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other news, 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 230,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $242,168,583.80. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the 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 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 approximately $222,082,527.60. The trade was a 3.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.92% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on BLK. Weiss Ratings raised BlackRock from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on BlackRock from $1,368.00 to $1,393.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. UBS Group upped their price target on BlackRock from $1,235.00 to $1,270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on BlackRock from $1,181.00 to $1,313.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on BlackRock from $1,269.00 to $1,128.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,264.61.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE BLK opened at $1,051.81 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $163.27 billion, a PE ratio of 26.40, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.42. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $1,043.04 and a 200-day moving average of $1,051.76.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $12.40 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.56 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 24.40%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $9.64 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 52.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $5.73 dividend. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. BlackRock's dividend 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.

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