Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. Invests $1.18 Million in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Ausdal Financial Partners initiated a $1.18 million position in BlackRock by purchasing 1,225 shares during the second quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 80.69% of the company.
• Analysts remain bullish, with recent upgrades and price-target increases contributing to a consensus “Buy” rating and average target price of $1,311.06.
• BlackRock reported better-than-expected quarterly results, including $13.91 in adjusted EPS and $7.08 billion in revenue, while announcing a quarterly dividend of $5.73 per share, representing a 2.0% yield.

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,225 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $1,178,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in BlackRock by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 212 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Manske Wealth Management grew its position in BlackRock by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Manske Wealth Management now owns 345 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Gibson Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Gibson Capital LLC now owns 308 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 230 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, Great Diamond Partners LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 2,791 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,987,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,383.00 to $1,488.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded BlackRock from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $1,165.00 to $1,364.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Zacks Research upgraded BlackRock from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,298.00 to $1,320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,311.06.

Key Stories Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has processed more than $5 billion in tax-deferred conversions from directly held Bitcoin. Reducing the minimum conversion size from $25 million to $1 million could make the product accessible to more wealthy investors and institutions, potentially supporting assets under management and fee revenue. However, these transactions transfer existing Bitcoin into the ETF rather than representing equivalent new cash inflows. Bitcoin to $100K? BlackRock’s $5B ETF Shift Pulls More BTC Into Wall Street
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street analysts remain broadly optimistic about BlackRock’s growth prospects and target price, despite the shares’ strong multiyear advance. What Are Wall Street Analysts' Target Price for BlackRock Stock?
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock named Jessica Tan to lead its global product unit, a management change that could influence future product development and distribution but whose financial impact is not yet clear. BlackRock names Jessica Tan to head global product unit
• Neutral Sentiment: The company announced final August cash distributions for the iShares Premium Money Market ETF. The announcement is routine and primarily affects fund investors rather than BlackRock’s corporate earnings. BlackRock Canada Announces Final August Cash Distributions
• Negative Sentiment: Rosen Law Firm said it is investigating potential securities claims involving BlackRock mutual funds, alleging that the company may have issued materially misleading business information. The announcement does not establish wrongdoing, but it introduces potential legal, reputational and financial risk. BlackRock Investor News: Rosen Law Firm Investigation
• Negative Sentiment: One valuation review says BlackRock now trades near fair value on intrinsic estimates and looks expensive on earnings multiples after an approximately 82% three-year return, limiting near-term upside unless earnings and fee growth accelerate. BlackRock Stock Looks Fully Valued After an 82% Run

BlackRock Stock Performance

BlackRock stock opened at $1,174.17 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 3.59 and a quick ratio of 3.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $1,075.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,045.98. BlackRock has a 52-week low of $917.39 and a 52-week high of $1,219.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.42.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $13.91 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 24.09% and a return on equity of 14.90%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 30.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $12.05 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 55.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $5.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.78%.

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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