BlackRock $BLK Shares Purchased by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its BlackRock stake by 224.5% in the fourth quarter, ending with 87,704 shares worth about $93.9 million.
• BlackRock reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $12.53 and revenue of $6.70 billion, both above analyst expectations. Revenue rose 27% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on BLK, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $1,269.06, even as some insiders recently sold shares.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 224.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 87,704 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 60,675 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned about 0.06% of BlackRock worth $93,873,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Shum Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Shum Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,183 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,336,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the period. First Bancorp Inc ME lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME now owns 321 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $344,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the period. Rather & Kittrell Inc. lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Rather & Kittrell Inc. now owns 430 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $461,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc. lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 755 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $808,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the period. Finally, Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,097 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,279,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More 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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 385 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,084.91, for a total transaction of $417,690.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,335 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,618,174.85. This trade represents a 10.35% 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 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 230,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on BLK shares. Freedom Capital upgraded BlackRock from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Barclays increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,290.00 to $1,310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on BlackRock from $1,238.00 to $1,105.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on BlackRock from $1,351.00 to $1,199.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,269.06.

BlackRock Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of BLK opened at $1,081.49 on Friday. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $917.39 and a 1 year high of $1,219.94. The company has a current ratio of 4.09, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,009.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,055.57. The stock has a market cap of $167.88 billion, a PE ratio of 27.15, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.44.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $6.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $9.64 EPS. BlackRock's quarterly revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that BlackRock will post 52.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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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