BlackRock $BLK Stock Holdings Lessened by Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS

Key Points

• Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS reduced its BlackRock stake by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 1,020 shares and leaving it with 33,563 shares valued at about $35.9 million.
• BlackRock insiders also sold stock recently: CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares and President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares, trimming their ownership positions.
• Analysts remain mostly constructive on BLK, with a Moderate Buy consensus and a target price of $1,269.06, while the company also reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings and declared a quarterly dividend of $5.73 per share.

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS trimmed its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,563 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 1,020 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS's holdings in BlackRock were worth $35,924,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BLK. Birchbrook Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 866.7% in the third quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 29 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of BlackRock 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 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 trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $9,233,627.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 210,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $222,082,527.60. This represents a 3.99% 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on BLK shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of BlackRock from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,240.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,368.00 to $1,393.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $1,220.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,238.00 to $1,105.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, BlackRock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,269.06.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $1,045.88 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $162.36 billion, a PE ratio of 26.25, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.44. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $1,029.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,053.69. 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 twelve month low of $917.39 and a twelve month high of $1,219.94.

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

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a $5.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 currently 57.53%.

Trending Headlines about BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several articles framed BlackRock as a strong dividend stock, which can support investor interest in BLK’s income profile and overall quality reputation. Why BlackRock (BLK) is a Great Dividend Stock Right Now
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s recent earnings strength remains a backdrop for the stock, with the company having reported better-than-expected EPS and revenue in its latest quarter. This reinforces confidence in the firm’s fundamentals. BlackRock Scales Back Equities After ‘Generational’ Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock is trimming stock exposure in its model portfolios after a strong run in U.S. equities. That suggests a more cautious near-term stance, but it is more of an asset-allocation decision than a direct hit to BLK’s earnings. BlackRock Scales Back Equities After ‘Generational’ Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Texas is shifting its Bitcoin reserve from BlackRock’s IBIT ETF to direct custody, but the allocation is small and the move reflects a change in custody preference rather than a broad rejection of BlackRock’s crypto platform. Texas Bitcoin reserve plans shift from ETF to direct custody
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw large outflows, and BlackRock’s IBIT accounted for the biggest share of redemptions. That can weigh on sentiment around one of BLK’s most visible growth products. U.S. Bitcoin Spot ETFs Hit by $228M Outflow as IBIT Sees Heavy Exit
• Negative Sentiment: Additional reports said IBIT had near-record outflows as Bitcoin fell below $75,000, suggesting investors are pulling back from the product during the crypto selloff. BlackRock Bitcoin ETF sees near-record outflows as BTC dips below $75K
• Negative Sentiment: Another report described a large single-day withdrawal from a BlackRock ETF, reinforcing concerns that crypto ETF flows are weakening and may be creating short-term pressure on BLK sentiment. Mysterious trader dumps $1B from BlackRock ETF
• Negative Sentiment: BlackRock’s IBIT also saw heavy daily outflows in the latest ETF flow data, which may be contributing to the stock’s softer tone today. Texas Shifts Bitcoin Holdings from ETF to Direct Custody Control

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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