BlackRock $BLK Holdings Lifted by Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Key Points

• Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its stake in BlackRock by 7.3% in Q4 to 27,912 shares, valued at about $29.88 million.
• BlackRock reported a quarter-beating $12.53 EPS and $6.70 billion revenue (up 27% YoY), and analysts have hiked price targets, leaving a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target near $1,269.
• Company insiders have sold a total of 106,911 shares worth roughly $114.7 million in the last 90 days, leaving insiders with about 1.92% ownership.

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,912 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 1,900 shares during the period. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co's holdings in BlackRock were worth $29,875,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Truist Financial Corp increased its position in BlackRock by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 241,949 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $258,967,000 after acquiring an additional 7,982 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 1,310 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,402,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 904 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $967,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,400 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $8,991,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 1,044 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,117,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $1,064.31 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $1,007.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,059.38. BlackRock has a twelve month low of $906.57 and a twelve month high of $1,219.94. The firm has a market cap of $165.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.44.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $12.40 by $0.13. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.40% and a return on equity of 14.96%. The business had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.64 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that BlackRock will post 52.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,290.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BlackRock from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of BlackRock from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of 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, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,240.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,269.06.

Insider Activity

In other BlackRock news, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,190 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,087.29, for a total transaction of $58,920,245.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 51,478 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $55,971,514.62. This represents a 51.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 106,911 shares of company stock worth $114,670,698 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.92% of the company's stock.

BlackRock 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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