BlackRock $BLK Shares Acquired by ARS Investment Partners LLC

Key Points

• ARS Investment Partners LLC boosted its BlackRock stake by 22.7% in the first quarter, buying 2,524 additional shares and bringing its position to 13,644 shares valued at about $13.1 million.
• BlackRock reported strong first-quarter earnings, with EPS of $12.53 beating estimates and revenue of $6.70 billion topping forecasts. Revenue also rose 27% year over year, underscoring continued business momentum.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $5.73 per share, payable June 23, which annualizes to $22.92 per share and implies a 2.2% yield.

ARS Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 22.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,644 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 2,524 shares during the period. ARS Investment Partners LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $13,122,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BLK. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,062,677 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $15,051,846,000 after acquiring an additional 221,123 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in BlackRock by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,264,545 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $6,705,193,000 after acquiring an additional 33,752 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in BlackRock by 5,190.3% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,490,422 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $5,876,618,000 after purchasing an additional 5,386,640 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in BlackRock by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,197,904 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $5,563,524,000 after purchasing an additional 149,902 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,838,937 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $4,108,968,000 after purchasing an additional 12,019 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK stock opened at $1,051.51 on Friday. BlackRock has a 52-week low of $917.39 and a 52-week 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. The stock has a market cap of $163.23 billion, a PE ratio of 26.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,047.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,051.90.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $12.40 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.56 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 24.40%.BlackRock's revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.64 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that BlackRock will post 52.8 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a $5.73 dividend. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is currently 57.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings raised BlackRock from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. TD Cowen cut 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 report on Thursday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,368.00 to $1,393.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,351.00 to $1,199.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. One equities research 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,264.61.

Key Stories Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF continues to act as a gateway for new investors into traditional finance, with Jay Jacobs saying roughly three-quarters of IBIT holders had never owned an ETF before. That supports the case for continued asset-gathering strength in BlackRock’s ETF franchise. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock filed for an iShares Bitcoin Premium Income ETF, a covered-call product aimed at income seekers. The move suggests BlackRock is broadening its crypto ETF lineup and could attract more fee-generating inflows. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock Canada announced June cash distributions for multiple iShares ETFs, reinforcing the company’s large and steady ETF distribution machine, which can be viewed as a sign of recurring product demand. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock was also highlighted as one of the largest Bitcoin holders, with Arkham data placing it ahead of Binance in BTC count. This reflects the scale of its crypto exposure, but it is more descriptive than fundamentally material on its own. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage comparing BlackRock with Blackstone and news about BlackRock entering the active high-yield ETF arena are broadly supportive of its product expansion, but neither article points to an immediate catalyst for the stock. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: One headline noted BlackRock “dumps 1,000 Bitcoin” as BTC struggled to hold the $60,000 level. If sustained, weaker crypto prices could dampen sentiment around BlackRock’s Bitcoin-linked products, though the impact on BLK itself is likely limited. Article Title

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other news, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the president directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 230,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $242,168,583.80. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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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