BlackRock $BLK Holdings Trimmed by Boston Trust Walden Corp

Key Points

• Boston Trust Walden Corp cut its BlackRock position by 4.4% in the first quarter, selling 1,541 shares and leaving it with 33,545 shares valued at about $32.3 million.
• BlackRock executives also sold stock recently: President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares and CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares, both in late April.
• Despite the insider selling, analysts remain generally constructive on BlackRock, with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and average price target of $1,269.44, while the company also beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates.

Boston Trust Walden Corp reduced its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 4.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,545 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 1,541 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp's holdings in BlackRock were worth $32,261,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of BlackRock 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 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the business's 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 directly owned 230,516 shares in the company, valued at $242,168,583.80. This trade represents a 12.82% 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective 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. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,238.00 to $1,105.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,235.00 to $1,270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,181.00 to $1,313.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,269.44.

Key Headlines Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s ETFs were included in the Treasury’s approved lineup for Trump Accounts, potentially expanding assets and visibility for the firm’s flagship products. Reference
• Positive Sentiment: Articles highlighted continued analyst optimism around BlackRock’s earnings setup, with expectations that the company could beat estimates again when it reports next quarter. Article: Will BlackRock (BLK) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report?
• Positive Sentiment: Tokenized versions of BlackRock’s IVV ETF were launched by Ondo Finance under SEC guidance, reinforcing BlackRock’s relevance in the growing onchain asset market. Article: BlackRock (BLK) Stock Fair Value Edges Higher As Analysts Debate Earnings And Flows
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock also disclosed a small reduction in its voting stake in Umicore, but the filing appears routine and unlikely to materially affect BLK shares. Article: Umicore - Transparency notification by BlackRock, Inc.
• Neutral Sentiment: Crypto headlines were mixed, with Bitcoin ETF outflows and broader crypto weakness offset by growing demand for BlackRock’s tokenized BUIDL product. Article: Yield-bearing stablecoin slowdown ends three-year run for crypto-native products

BlackRock Price Performance

NYSE:BLK opened at $994.50 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $154.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.96, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.43. BlackRock has a one year low of $917.39 and a one year high of $1,219.94. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $1,038.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,045.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 4.09 and a quick ratio of 4.09.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $9.64 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 53.34 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a $5.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.53%.

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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