Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 171,740 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon cut its BlackRock stake by 16.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 171,740 shares and ending with 858,604 shares valued at about $919 million.
• BlackRock reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $12.53 and revenue of $6.70 billion, both above analyst expectations. Revenue rose 27% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $5.73 per share, payable June 23, implying a 2.3% annualized yield at the time of the report.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp decreased its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 16.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 858,604 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 171,740 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.55% of BlackRock worth $918,998,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Shum Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in BlackRock by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Shum Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,183 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,336,000 after buying an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME now owns 321 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $344,000 after buying an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Rather & Kittrell Inc. raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Rather & Kittrell Inc. now owns 430 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $461,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 755 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $808,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 23.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 52 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of BLK opened at $991.94 on Thursday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $1,032.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,051.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $153.98 billion, a PE ratio of 24.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.42. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $917.39 and a 12-month 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.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $12.40 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $6.70 billion during 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $9.64 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 52.8 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $5.73 dividend. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is currently 57.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BlackRock news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,050.55, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 12.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 $222,082,527.60. The trade was a 3.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on BLK shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded BlackRock from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective 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. Barclays increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,290.00 to $1,310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,240.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of 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. One research 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,269.06.

BlackRock News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock disclosed a 5% stake in Kiwi Property Group, signaling continued activity in its institutional investment portfolio and potentially reinforcing confidence in its deal flow and global capital allocation franchise. BlackRock Takes 5% Stake in Kiwi Property Group
• Positive Sentiment: Jio BlackRock plans to give Indian investors access to global BlackRock ETFs via GIFT City, which could expand the firm’s international ETF distribution and long-term assets under management. Jio BlackRock plans access to global BlackRock ETFs for Indian investors via GIFT City
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock executives remained constructive on markets, with Rick Rieder saying earnings growth and cash moving back into stocks support the bull case, which may help investor sentiment toward the firm’s asset-management outlook. Why BlackRock's Rick Rieder feels 'a bit more relaxed' about AI bull market than dotcom era
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock launched a $25 million Future Builders grant initiative to support skilled trades training; the move is more reputational and philanthropic than immediately material to earnings. BlackRock Future Builders RFP Links Skilled Trades Philanthropy And Client Relations
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock also updated ETF methodologies and climate screens in Asia, and lifted its OMV stake above 4%, both of which reflect ongoing portfolio management but are unlikely to move BLK shares on their own. BlackRock Tightens Tracking and Refines Climate Screens for India and Asia ex Japan iShares ETFs BlackRock Lifts OMV Stake Above 4% Threshold
• Negative Sentiment: One Reuters report said BlackRock’s Atlas Renewable Energy froze $1 billion in Brazil renewables investments after grid rejection issues, which may raise concerns about delays in part of its infrastructure/energy growth strategy. BlackRock's Atlas freezes $1 billion in Brazil renewables investments
• Negative Sentiment: Ryanair disclosed that BlackRock cut its stake below 3%, which may be viewed as a modest sign of reduced exposure in one institutional holding. Ryanair Discloses BlackRock Stake Cut Below 3% Threshold

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.

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