BlackRock $BLK Shares Purchased by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems ET Al increased its BlackRock stake by 63.6% in the fourth quarter, buying 4,390 additional shares and bringing its total to 11,290 shares worth about $12.1 million.
• BlackRock reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $12.53 versus $12.40 expected and revenue of $6.70 billion versus $6.56 billion expected, while revenue rose 27% year over year.
• Despite the strong earnings and positive analyst sentiment, company insiders sold shares recently, including CEO Laurence Fink and President Robert Kapito, while the stock was trading around $1,094 and analysts maintained a Moderate Buy rating.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al boosted its position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 63.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,290 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 4,390 shares during the quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al's holdings in BlackRock were worth $12,084,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in BlackRock by 866.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 29 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in BlackRock by 94.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock said 3.6% credit yields could help cushion market volatility, reinforcing the case for staying invested in fixed income and highlighting continued demand for income-generating products. BlackRock Says 3.6% Credit Yields Could Cushion Market Volatility
• Positive Sentiment: The company continues to expand its tokenized-money-market push, including BUIDL and new collateral-use cases with Standard Chartered and OKX, which strengthens BlackRock’s positioning in digital assets and tokenized finance. BlackRock Tests Tokenized Collateral As AI And Crypto Reshape Markets
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s large new 13F-reported positions, including fresh stakes in multiple names and continued accumulation in tokenization-related holdings, suggest active deployment of capital and may be seen as evidence of strong institutional conviction. Fund Update: BlackRock, Inc. Just Disclosed New Holdings

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,296.00 to $1,380.00 in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,368.00 to $1,393.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,269.06.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $1,094.24 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a current ratio of 4.09. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $917.39 and a 1 year high of $1,219.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.47, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.44. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,007.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,055.62.

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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.64 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 52.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 230,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $242,168,583.80. The trade was a 12.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,056.60, for a total value of $9,233,627.40. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 210,186 shares in the company, valued at $222,082,527.60. This trade represents a 3.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 45,249 shares of company stock worth $47,671,714 over the last 90 days. Company 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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