Aigen Investment Management LP Purchases Shares of 7,038 BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Aigen Investment Management LP opened a new position in BlackRock, buying 7,038 shares valued at about $7.53 million, making BLK its second-largest holding.
• BlackRock reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $12.53 beating estimates and revenue of $6.70 billion topping expectations, while revenue rose 27% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $5.73 per share and has drawn mostly positive analyst views, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $1,264.61.

Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 7,038 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $7,533,000. BlackRock makes up 1.8% of Aigen Investment Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,615,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,078,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the second quarter worth about $259,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the second quarter valued at approximately $548,000. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the second quarter valued at approximately $98,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $1,031.45 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $160.11 billion, a PE ratio of 25.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.42. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $1,039.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,051.37. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $917.39 and a 12-month high of $1,219.94.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $12.40 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.56 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 24.40%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.64 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that BlackRock will post 52.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a $5.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 presently 57.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,181.00 to $1,313.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Evercore decreased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,140.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Weiss Ratings raised BlackRock from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,368.00 to $1,393.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,235.00 to $1,270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,264.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 $242,168,583.80. This trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.92% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Trending Headlines about BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Negative Sentiment: BlackRock’s private-credit funds saw redemption requests far above the cap, and the firm is again limiting withdrawals, which could weigh on sentiment around its alternatives business. Reuters article
• Negative Sentiment: Bloomberg and other reports said BlackRock’s HPS/HLEND private-credit vehicles capped redemptions after investors sought to withdraw more than 5%, underscoring continued pressure in the funds. Bloomberg article
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock also reported buying additional Bitcoin and Ethereum holdings, and it is preparing an income-focused Bitcoin ETF, highlighting continued growth in its digital-asset franchise. Finbold article
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that BlackRock may seek about $5 billion of SpaceX IPO shares point to strong client demand and product breadth, but this is not as immediate a driver as the redemption headlines. Reuters article

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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