BlackRock $BLK Shares Bought by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Key Points

• Thrivent Financial for Lutherans nearly doubled its BlackRock stake in the fourth quarter, increasing holdings by 94.6% to 26,828 shares worth about $28.7 million.
• BlackRock’s most recent earnings beat expectations, with EPS of $12.53 versus the $12.40 estimate and revenue of $6.70 billion, up 27% from a year earlier.
• Institutional interest remains strong, with 80.69% of BlackRock shares owned by hedge funds and institutions, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average target price of $1,269.06.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 94.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,828 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 13,040 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' holdings in BlackRock were worth $28,720,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in BlackRock by 866.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 29 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Birchbrook Inc. acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE BLK opened at $1,081.49 on Monday. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $917.39 and a 1-year high of $1,219.94. The company has a market capitalization of $167.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.15, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.44. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $1,009.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,055.04. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 24.40%.The firm had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.56 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.64 EPS. BlackRock's quarterly revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that BlackRock will post 52.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Key BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s GIP unit is teaming with Temasek and Abu Dhabi-linked investors to target up to $30 billion in infrastructure deals, a sign that the firm continues to expand its alternative-investments platform and fee-earning asset base. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan increased its holdings of BlackRock’s IBIT Bitcoin ETF by 174%, reinforcing institutional demand for BlackRock’s crypto-linked products and supporting the company’s ETF growth story. Cointelegraph article
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock is also being highlighted for income-focused ETF demand, with several high-yield iShares funds offering yields above 6%, which may keep assets flowing into its ETF franchise. TipRanks article

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. CICC Research increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,220.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Freedom Capital raised BlackRock from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on BlackRock from $1,269.00 to $1,128.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,269.06.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, Director Stephen Cohen sold 225 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,069.56, for a total value of $240,651.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,054,779.16. This trade represents a 3.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 230,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $242,168,583.80. The trade was a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 45,249 shares of company stock valued at $47,671,714. Company insiders own 1.92% of the company's stock.

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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