Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in BlackRock $BLK

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 3.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,050 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 1,397 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $35,631,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BLK. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in BlackRock by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 920,578 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $985,331,000 after purchasing an additional 7,457 shares in the last quarter. TCV Trust & Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $20,279,000. Texas Yale Capital Corp. increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 32.2% during the fourth quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 5,764 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $6,169,000 after buying an additional 1,405 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 94.6% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 26,828 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,720,000 after buying an additional 13,040 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in BlackRock by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,838,937 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $4,108,968,000 after acquiring an additional 12,019 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock announced a quarterly dividend of $5.73 per share, reinforcing confidence in the firm’s cash generation and shareholder returns. BlackRock Declares Quarterly Dividend of $5.73 on Common Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Investor interest in BlackRock’s ETF franchise remains strong, with reports highlighting continued momentum in iShares and the recovery in Bitcoin ETF inflows led by IBIT. BlackRock (BLK) Could Be 21% Below Fair Value As Dividend Signals Confidence BlackRock’s IBIT Leads Nearly $1B Bitcoin ETF Recovery as Inflows Hit 7 Straight Days
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock is also being tied to large-scale growth opportunities, including a reported $12.3 billion bond financing for Meta’s Texas AI data facility, underscoring its reach in capital markets and infrastructure finance. BlackRock (BLK) Markets $12.3B in Bonds for Meta’s Texas AI Data Facility
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock disclosed a larger stake in Qiagen, raising its voting power to 13%; this is notable for BlackRock’s portfolio activity, but it is not a direct catalyst for BLK earnings. BlackRock builds 11.6% stake in Qiagen, lifting voting power to 13%
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock joined other firms in a $15 million Bitcoin security consortium focused on quantum-resistant protections, a long-term strategic initiative with limited immediate financial impact. BlackRock, Coinbase and Strategy Pledge $15M to Quantum-Proof Bitcoin
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage noted bond investors demanding higher yields on the Meta-linked financing deal, which may reflect increased caution around AI infrastructure risk and could slightly pressure sentiment around BlackRock’s role in the transaction. Bond investors demand higher yields on BlackRock AI-linked financing deal

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on BLK shares. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. TD Cowen dropped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of BlackRock from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $1,165.00 to $1,364.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $1,389.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Zacks Research raised BlackRock from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,304.29.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $1,054.61 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $163.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.43. BlackRock has a 52-week low of $917.39 and a 52-week high of $1,219.94. The company has a quick ratio of 4.09, a current ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $1,029.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,042.05.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $13.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $12.69 by $1.22. The company had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.73 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.09% and a return on equity of 15.01%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 30.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $12.05 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 55.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a $5.73 dividend. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $222,082,527.60. This 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 hyperlink. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 230,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $242,168,583.80. The trade was a 12.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.92% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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