First National Bank of Omaha Grows Position in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• First National Bank of Omaha increased its BlackRock stake by 10.7% in the fourth quarter, buying 1,494 additional shares and bringing its holding to 15,459 shares worth about $16.6 million.
• BlackRock continues to draw heavy institutional ownership, with hedge funds and other institutional investors holding 80.69% of the stock overall.
• The company recently reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, including $12.53 EPS and $6.70 billion in revenue, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $5.73 per share.

First National Bank of Omaha grew its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 10.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,459 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 1,494 shares during the period. First National Bank of Omaha's holdings in BlackRock were worth $16,583,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BLK. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Birchbrook Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Negative Sentiment: BlackRock’s private-credit funds saw redemption requests far above the cap, and the firm is again limiting withdrawals, which could weigh on sentiment around its alternatives business. Reuters article
• Negative Sentiment: Bloomberg and other reports said BlackRock’s HPS/HLEND private-credit vehicles capped redemptions after investors sought to withdraw more than 5%, underscoring continued pressure in the funds. Bloomberg article
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock also reported buying additional Bitcoin and Ethereum holdings, and it is preparing an income-focused Bitcoin ETF, highlighting continued growth in its digital-asset franchise. Finbold article
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that BlackRock may seek about $5 billion of SpaceX IPO shares point to strong client demand and product breadth, but this is not as immediate a driver as the redemption headlines. Reuters article

BlackRock Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of BLK opened at $1,031.45 on Friday. BlackRock has a 52-week low of $917.39 and a 52-week high of $1,219.94. The company has a market capitalization of $160.11 billion, a PE ratio of 25.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,039.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,051.37. The company has a quick ratio of 4.09, a current ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $12.40 by $0.13. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 24.40%.The business had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.56 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.64 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 52.8 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid 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 57.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Evercore decreased their target price on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,140.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on BlackRock from $1,269.00 to $1,128.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,235.00 to $1,270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. One 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,264.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 transaction of $35,613,645.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 230,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $242,168,583.80. This trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 $222,082,527.60. The trade was a 3.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.92% of the stock is 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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