BlackRock $BLK Shares Sold by Candriam S.C.A.

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. cut its BlackRock stake by 60.2% in the first quarter, selling 22,489 shares and leaving it with 14,880 shares worth about $14.31 million.
• Several other institutional investors also adjusted positions in BlackRock, while overall institutional ownership remains high at 80.69% of shares outstanding.
• BlackRock insiders sold shares as well: President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares and CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares, even as analysts and brokerages remained generally bullish on the stock with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating.

Candriam S.C.A. trimmed its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 60.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,880 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 22,489 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $14,310,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,615,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC raised its position in BlackRock by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the 2nd quarter valued at about $259,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 2nd quarter valued at about $548,000. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $98,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the president directly owned 210,186 shares in the company, valued at $222,082,527.60. The trade was a 3.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, 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. Insiders own 1.92% of the company's stock.

BlackRock News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target on BlackRock and maintained an outperform rating, signaling confidence ahead of earnings.
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays lifted its price target on BlackRock to $1,340 and kept an overweight rating, reflecting expectations for continued business momentum.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect Q2 results to benefit from ETF inflows, higher market levels, and growth in assets under management, which could support earnings and revenue.
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock’s newer crypto-related products, including its Bitcoin income ETF and BUIDL tokenized treasury fund, are attracting attention but are not yet a major earnings driver.
• Neutral Sentiment: Broad crypto ETF outflows were reported, though BlackRock’s IBIT was flat, limiting direct negative impact on the company.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $1,036.18 on Monday. The business's 50-day moving average is $1,034.39 and its 200-day moving average is $1,043.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 4.09 and a quick ratio of 4.09. The company has a market capitalization of $160.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.43. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $917.39 and a fifty-two week high of $1,219.94.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.40% and a return on equity of 14.74%. The business had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.56 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $9.64 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that BlackRock will post 53.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a dividend of $5.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BLK. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of BlackRock from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on BlackRock from $1,238.00 to $1,105.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $1,145.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of 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, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,273.33.

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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