BlackRock $BLK Shares Sold by Epoch Investment Partners Inc.

Key Points

• Epoch Investment Partners cut its BlackRock stake by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 1,243 shares and leaving it with 35,653 shares valued at about $38.2 million.
• Recent filings also show mixed institutional activity, while analysts remain generally constructive: BlackRock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating and an average price target of $1,264.61.
• The company continues to face scrutiny over its private-credit funds, with redemption requests exceeding limits and withdrawals being capped, even as BlackRock reported strong quarterly earnings and maintained its dividend.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lessened its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,653 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 1,243 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $38,161,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,615,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $259,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $548,000. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $98,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on BLK. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,351.00 to $1,199.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,240.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of BlackRock from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,269.00 to $1,128.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,264.61.

BlackRock News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Negative Sentiment: BlackRock’s private-credit funds saw redemption requests far above the cap, and the firm is again limiting withdrawals, which could weigh on sentiment around its alternatives business. Reuters article
• Negative Sentiment: Bloomberg and other reports said BlackRock’s HPS/HLEND private-credit vehicles capped redemptions after investors sought to withdraw more than 5%, underscoring continued pressure in the funds. Bloomberg article
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock also reported buying additional Bitcoin and Ethereum holdings, and it is preparing an income-focused Bitcoin ETF, highlighting continued growth in its digital-asset franchise. Finbold article
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that BlackRock may seek about $5 billion of SpaceX IPO shares point to strong client demand and product breadth, but this is not as immediate a driver as the redemption headlines. Reuters article

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of BlackRock 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 completion of the sale, the president directly owned 210,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of BlackRock 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 230,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $242,168,583.80. This trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.92% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK stock opened at $1,031.45 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.09, a current ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. BlackRock has a 52 week low of $917.39 and a 52 week high of $1,219.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $160.12 billion, a PE ratio of 25.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $1,039.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,051.60.

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

BlackRock Announces Dividend

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

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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