BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments Cuts Holdings in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments cut its BlackRock stake by 25% in the fourth quarter, selling 1,100 shares and ending with 3,300 shares worth about $3.58 million.
• BlackRock recently posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $12.53 versus the $12.40 estimate and revenue of $6.70 billion, up 27% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $5.73 per share, while analysts remain generally positive with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $1,264.61.

BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments trimmed its position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 25.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,300 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 1,100 shares during the quarter. BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments' holdings in BlackRock were worth $3,578,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in BlackRock by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,615,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC raised its position in BlackRock by 1.6% during the fourth 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 period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the second quarter valued at approximately $259,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $548,000. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $98,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Price Performance

BLK opened at $1,011.46 on Wednesday. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $917.39 and a 12-month high of $1,219.94. The company has a current ratio of 4.09, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $1,035.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,051.35. The company has a market capitalization of $157.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.39, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.42.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced 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. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 24.40%.The firm 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 52.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is presently 57.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,240.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,235.00 to $1,270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of BlackRock from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,368.00 to $1,393.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Evercore lowered their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,140.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,264.61.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the president owned 210,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at $222,082,527.60. The trade was a 3.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 value of $35,613,645.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 230,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $242,168,583.80. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.92% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Trending Headlines about BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock launched a new space-focused ETF for European investors, the iShares Space Technologies UCITS ETF (STAR), with a fast-track IPO inclusion feature that could help attract demand for exposure to newly public space companies. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The new STAR ETF and related coverage highlight BlackRock’s ability to keep expanding its lineup in high-growth thematic investing, which supports the company’s fee-generating asset-gathering story. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Interactive Brokers began offering BlackRock ETFs in European savings plans, which broadens distribution and could help drive additional inflows into BlackRock funds. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock continues to be highlighted as a leading ETF provider with multiple funds showing upside potential, reinforcing the firm’s strong franchise in the ETF market. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock’s commentary on “mega forces” and its market outlook adds to investor attention, but this is more about long-term strategy than an immediate earnings catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Bitcoin ETF outflows remain a headwind, and BlackRock’s IBIT reportedly led exits during a week of heavy redemptions, which could weigh on sentiment around its crypto-related ETF business. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Evercore trimmed its price target on BlackRock, which may slightly temper enthusiasm even though the firm kept an outperform rating. Article Title

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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