Auto Owners Insurance Co Increases Stock Position in BlackRock $BLK

Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 106,934.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,284,408 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 1,283,208 shares during the quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co owned approximately 0.83% of BlackRock worth $128,441,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BLK. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Birchbrook Inc. purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,181.00 to $1,313.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on BlackRock from $1,351.00 to $1,199.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on BlackRock from $1,269.00 to $1,128.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Evercore lowered their target price on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,140.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,264.61.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of BLK stock opened at $1,051.51 on Friday. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $917.39 and a 1 year high of $1,219.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $163.23 billion, a PE ratio of 26.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $1,047.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,051.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a current ratio of 4.09.

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

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. 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 (DPR) is 57.53%.

Key Stories Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF continues to act as a gateway for new investors into traditional finance, with Jay Jacobs saying roughly three-quarters of IBIT holders had never owned an ETF before. That supports the case for continued asset-gathering strength in BlackRock’s ETF franchise. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock filed for an iShares Bitcoin Premium Income ETF, a covered-call product aimed at income seekers. The move suggests BlackRock is broadening its crypto ETF lineup and could attract more fee-generating inflows. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock Canada announced June cash distributions for multiple iShares ETFs, reinforcing the company’s large and steady ETF distribution machine, which can be viewed as a sign of recurring product demand. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock was also highlighted as one of the largest Bitcoin holders, with Arkham data placing it ahead of Binance in BTC count. This reflects the scale of its crypto exposure, but it is more descriptive than fundamentally material on its own. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage comparing BlackRock with Blackstone and news about BlackRock entering the active high-yield ETF arena are broadly supportive of its product expansion, but neither article points to an immediate catalyst for the stock. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: One headline noted BlackRock “dumps 1,000 Bitcoin” as BTC struggled to hold the $60,000 level. If sustained, weaker crypto prices could dampen sentiment around BlackRock’s Bitcoin-linked products, though the impact on BLK itself is likely limited. Article Title

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BlackRock 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 value of $9,233,627.40. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 210,186 shares in the company, valued at $222,082,527.60. The trade was a 3.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 230,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $242,168,583.80. This trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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