BlackRock $BLK Stock Holdings Increased by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Key Points

• Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its BlackRock stake by 9.9% in the first quarter, buying 4,158 additional shares to bring its total to 46,291 shares valued at about $44.3 million.
• BlackRock recently posted strong quarterly earnings, with EPS of $13.91 and revenue of $7.08 billion, both ahead of analyst expectations. Revenue also rose 30.6% year over year.
• Analysts remain upbeat on the stock, with several firms raising price targets and the consensus rating sitting at “Moderate Buy.” The average target price is about $1,304.29, above the recent share price.

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 9.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,291 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 4,158 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $44,319,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 920,578 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $985,331,000 after acquiring an additional 7,457 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 251,856 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $269,572,000 after purchasing an additional 24,196 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the third quarter worth about $3,791,000. TCV Trust & Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $20,279,000. Finally, Texas Yale Capital Corp. lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 5,764 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $6,169,000 after purchasing an additional 1,405 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of BLK opened at $1,072.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a current ratio of 4.09. The company has a market cap of $166.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.63, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $1,033.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,043.13. BlackRock has a 52-week low of $917.39 and a 52-week high of $1,219.94.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $13.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $12.69 by $1.22. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.09% and a return on equity of 15.01%. The company had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $12.05 earnings per share. BlackRock's quarterly revenue was up 30.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that BlackRock will post 55.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a dividend of $5.73 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is presently 57.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on BLK shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,270.00 to $1,320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $1,258.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $1,389.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,304.29.

BlackRock News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock reported record second-quarter results, with revenue and earnings beating Wall Street estimates and client assets reaching a new high, highlighting strong operating momentum. Blackrock CEO Says Client Demand Has ‘Never Been Greater’ as Assets Reach Record $15.3 Trillion
• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets raised its price target on BlackRock to $1,300 and kept an outperform view, while other firms also lifted targets after the earnings beat, signaling rising Street confidence. BlackRock price target raised by BMO Capital Markets
• Positive Sentiment: J.P. Morgan upgraded BlackRock to overweight/buy-equivalent and Bank of America reiterated a buy rating, citing growth opportunities in tokenization, private markets, direct indexing, and automation-led margin expansion. JP Morgan upgrades BlackRock to buy-equivalent after Q2 earnings
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s iShares business surpassed $6 trillion in assets, and Bitcoin ETF inflows continued to support the firm’s fast-growing ETF platform, reinforcing a strong fee-based growth story. BlackRock iShares Surpasses $6 Trillion in Assets
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles highlighted BlackRock’s expanding ownership stakes in other companies and broader market commentary, but these items are not likely to materially move BLK shares on their own.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,050.55, for a total value of $35,613,645.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 230,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $242,168,583.80. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction 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 sale, the president directly owned 210,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. 1.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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