BlackRock $BLK Stake Reduced by Forum Financial Management LP

Key Points

• Forum Financial Management LP cut its BlackRock stake by 86.3% in the first quarter, reducing its holdings to 225 shares worth about $216,000.
• BlackRock reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $12.53 and revenue of $6.70 billion, both above analyst estimates. Revenue rose 27% year over year.
• The company recently paid a quarterly dividend of $5.73 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 2.3%, while analysts currently maintain a Moderate Buy consensus on the stock.

Forum Financial Management LP cut its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 86.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 225 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 1,418 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP's holdings in BlackRock were worth $216,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Birchbrook Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

NYSE BLK opened at $980.85 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.43. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $917.39 and a 1 year high of $1,219.94. The business's fifty day moving average is $1,040.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,047.00. 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 (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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.64 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 53.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a $5.73 dividend. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.53%.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other news, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $222,082,527.60. This trade represents a 3.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 business'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 transaction of $35,613,645.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 230,516 shares in the company, valued at $242,168,583.80. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 1.92% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The U.S. Treasury selected two BlackRock iShares ETFs — IVV and ITOT — for the new “Trump Accounts” savings program, which could expand long-term asset inflows and reinforce BlackRock’s ETF leadership. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock also said it is updating its closed-end fund discount management programs, a move that may support investor confidence in parts of its product lineup and capital-return strategy. Yahoo Finance article
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley described the setup for traditional asset managers, including BlackRock, as favorable heading into Q2 results, suggesting the company could benefit from improving sentiment in the financial sector. Yahoo Finance article
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock announced that Phil Tseng is leaving as CEO of BlackRock TCP Capital / its private credit fund unit, a management change that adds uncertainty but is not yet a quantified financial hit. Seeking Alpha article
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock’s investment outlook turned more cautious on emerging-market equities while favoring euro-zone bonds and shorter-duration positioning, reflecting a portfolio shift rather than a direct hit to earnings. Yahoo Finance article
• Negative Sentiment: BlackRock’s private credit business is drawing scrutiny after Bloomberg reported its fund CEO is departing amid valuation probes, losses, and markdowns, which could pressure sentiment around the firm’s alternatives push. Yahoo Finance article
• Negative Sentiment: BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF IBIT has faced sizable outflows recently, highlighting softer institutional demand in crypto and creating a small drag on sentiment around the firm’s digital-asset exposure. Blockonomi article

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BLK. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on BlackRock from $1,351.00 to $1,199.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Barclays raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,290.00 to $1,310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,238.00 to $1,105.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,181.00 to $1,313.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,393.00 to $1,430.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,269.44.

BlackRock 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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