BlackRock $BLK Shares Acquired by Aptus Capital Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its BlackRock stake by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 33,139 shares valued at about $35.5 million.
• BlackRock continues to have strong institutional support, with roughly 80.69% of shares held by institutional investors and hedge funds, even as some other funds also initiated small positions.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive but mixed: BlackRock has an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $1,264.61, while recent target cuts reflect some caution.

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 33,139 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 1,088 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $35,470,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of 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. dropped 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 note on Monday, April 13th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective 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. 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. Finally, Evercore dropped their price target on shares of 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 assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,264.61.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the 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 directly owned 210,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $222,082,527.60. This represents a 3.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,050.55, for a total transaction of $35,613,645.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.92% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Negative Sentiment: BlackRock’s private-credit funds saw redemption requests far above the cap, and the firm is again limiting withdrawals, which could weigh on sentiment around its alternatives business. Reuters article
• Negative Sentiment: Bloomberg and other reports said BlackRock’s HPS/HLEND private-credit vehicles capped redemptions after investors sought to withdraw more than 5%, underscoring continued pressure in the funds. Bloomberg article
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock also reported buying additional Bitcoin and Ethereum holdings, and it is preparing an income-focused Bitcoin ETF, highlighting continued growth in its digital-asset franchise. Finbold article
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that BlackRock may seek about $5 billion of SpaceX IPO shares point to strong client demand and product breadth, but this is not as immediate a driver as the redemption headlines. Reuters article

BlackRock Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $1,031.45 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $1,039.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,051.37. BlackRock has a 52-week low of $917.39 and a 52-week high of $1,219.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $160.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.89, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.42. 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 (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 firm had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $9.64 earnings per share. BlackRock's revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 52.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $5.73 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BLK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.