BlackRock $BLK Position Increased by Krilogy Financial LLC

Key Points

• Krilogy Financial LLC increased its BlackRock stake by 43.8% in the first quarter, buying 1,687 additional shares and bringing its total to 5,542 shares valued at about $5.68 million.
• BlackRock reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $12.53 versus $12.40 expected and revenue of $6.70 billion, up 27% year over year.
• The company continues to return cash to shareholders through its quarterly dividend of $5.73 per share, which annualizes to $22.92 and yields about 2.3%.

Krilogy Financial LLC grew its position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 43.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,542 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 1,687 shares during the quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $5,680,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Shum Financial Group Inc. grew its position in BlackRock by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Shum Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,183 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,336,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME now owns 321 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Rather & Kittrell Inc. boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Rather & Kittrell Inc. now owns 430 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $461,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc. boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 755 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $808,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the period. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 23.8% during the third quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 52 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK stock opened at $1,016.18 on Wednesday. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $917.39 and a fifty-two week high of $1,219.94. The stock's 50-day moving average is $1,049.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,051.62. The firm has a market cap of $157.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.51, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.42.

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

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BLK. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,368.00 to $1,393.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,181.00 to $1,313.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,238.00 to $1,105.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,267.39.

Key Stories Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BNP Paribas Exane raised its price target on BlackRock to $1,350 from $1,300 and reiterated an outperform rating, signaling confidence in the stock’s upside. MarketScreener article
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock is paying its quarterly dividend today at $5.73 per share, which supports the stock’s income appeal for shareholders. Finbold article
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock highlighted continued progress from its Emergency Savings Initiative, which has helped build nearly $8 billion in emergency savings for workers and broadened its brand visibility in a positive social-impact story. Yahoo Finance article
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock executives said short-dated Treasury inflation-protected securities may be attractive for investors worried about inflation, reinforcing the firm’s fixed-income expertise but not directly changing the earnings outlook. CNBC video
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock’s digital-assets head said AI is drawing investor attention and capital away from Bitcoin, a comment that reflects the firm’s crypto-market view but is not a direct catalyst for BLK earnings. Finbold article
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock also received coverage around layoffs and a potential $5 billion SpaceX investment, but those items were more speculative or operational in nature and had no clear immediate impact on the stock. Yahoo Finance article Yahoo Finance article
• Negative Sentiment: Commentary from BlackRock’s crypto team that AI is “sucking oxygen” away from Bitcoin may reinforce near-term pressure in parts of the digital-assets franchise, even though the broader impact on BLK is limited. Benzinga article

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,050.55, for a total value 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 approximately $242,168,583.80. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,056.60, for a total transaction of $9,233,627.40. Following the transaction, 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 1.92% of the company's stock.

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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