Forsta AP Fonden Raises Stock Position in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden increased its BlackRock stake by 19.7% in the fourth quarter, buying 7,030 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 42,630 shares worth about $45.6 million.
• BlackRock continues to see broad institutional support, with about 80.69% of the stock owned by hedge funds and other institutions, even as some insiders recently sold shares.
• Analysts remain constructive on BLK, with several firms raising price targets and the consensus rating sitting at “Moderate Buy,” while BlackRock also recently beat earnings and revenue estimates for the quarter.

Forsta AP Fonden grew its holdings in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 19.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,630 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 7,030 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in BlackRock were worth $45,629,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Shum Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Shum Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,183 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,336,000 after buying an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME now owns 321 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $344,000 after buying an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Rather & Kittrell Inc. grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Rather & Kittrell Inc. now owns 430 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $461,000 after buying an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 755 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $808,000 after buying an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SYM FINANCIAL Corp grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 422 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $492,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the president owned 210,186 shares in the company, valued at $222,082,527.60. This trade represents a 3.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,050.55, for a total transaction of $35,613,645.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 230,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $242,168,583.80. The trade was a 12.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.92% of the company's stock.

Key BlackRock News

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on BLK shares. 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. Barclays raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,290.00 to $1,310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,181.00 to $1,313.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,368.00 to $1,393.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,269.06.

BlackRock Price Performance

BlackRock stock opened at $1,045.88 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $1,029.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,053.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.35 billion, a PE ratio of 26.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 4.09, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $917.39 and a 12-month high of $1,219.94.

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

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $5.73 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.53%.

BlackRock Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BLK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.