Dark Forest Capital Management LP Invests $4.50 Million in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Dark Forest Capital Management LP recently acquired a new position in BlackRock, investing approximately $4.50 million to buy 4,752 shares during the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including GAMMA Investing LLC and Royal Bank of Canada, significantly increased their stakes in BlackRock, indicating a strong interest in the asset manager's stock.
• BlackRock reported a quarterly EPS of $12.05, surpassing analyst expectations and demonstrating a 12.9% year-over-year revenue growth for the quarter.

Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 4,752 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $4,498,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 76.5% during the 1st quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,120.50, for a total transaction of $19,207,611.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 61,369 shares in the company, valued at $68,763,964.50. This trade represents a 21.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,125.60, for a total value of $20,301,321.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 19,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,617,148. This trade represents a 48.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573 over the last three months. 1.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.9%

BlackRock stock traded down $9.55 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $1,099.21. The stock had a trading volume of 487,573 shares, compared to its average volume of 446,742. The company has a quick ratio of 4.04, a current ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market cap of $170.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.45. BlackRock has a one year low of $773.74 and a one year high of $1,171.89. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $1,110.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,002.11.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.41 by $1.64. The firm had revenue of $5.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 29.68%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $10.36 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Argus reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,018.00 to $1,093.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,214.00 to $1,224.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,154.07.

About BlackRock

BlackRock, Inc is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to institutional, intermediary, and individual investors including corporate, public, union, and industry pension plans, insurance companies, third-party mutual funds, endowments, public institutions, governments, foundations, charities, sovereign wealth funds, corporations, official institutions, and banks.