Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Acquires New Shares in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System opened a new position in BlackRock during the first quarter, buying 7,400 shares valued at about $7.1 million.
• BlackRock continues to attract heavy institutional interest, with 80.69% of its stock owned by institutions and several other funds recently adding to their stakes.
• Inside the company, President Robert Kapito and CEO Laurence Fink both sold shares in late April, while BlackRock also recently reported a beat on earnings and revenue for the quarter.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,400 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $7,117,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 920,578 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $985,331,000 after buying an additional 7,457 shares during the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP increased its position in BlackRock by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 251,856 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $269,572,000 after acquiring an additional 24,196 shares during the period. Sienna Gestion increased its position in BlackRock by 51.5% during the third quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 22,859 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $24,299,000 after acquiring an additional 7,773 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,791,000. Finally, TCV Trust & Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at $20,279,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the business'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 sale, the president owned 210,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $222,082,527.60. The trade was a 3.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 230,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $242,168,583.80. This trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.92% of the company's stock.

BlackRock News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock highlighted growing retirement-savings needs in its 2026 Read on Retirement report, reinforcing the firm’s long-term role in workplace savings and advisory solutions. Americans Look Beyond Savings to Turn Retirement Confidence Into Reality, BlackRock Survey Finds
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock said a 1%–2% Bitcoin allocation can be reasonable for traditional portfolios, a message that supports adoption of its crypto-linked products, including iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT). BlackRock Recommends 1-2% Bitcoin Allocation as BTC Gains Ground in Institutional Portfolios
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock also backed Caplight’s $16 million Series A, extending its exposure to private-markets infrastructure and data tools. Caplight Raises $16M Series A led by BlackRock and Fin Capital to power the next era of private markets
• Neutral Sentiment: Trumid announced a multi-year partnership with BlackRock Aladdin to improve corporate bond liquidity, which is constructive for BlackRock’s technology and trading ecosystem but not an immediate earnings driver. Trumid Announces Multi-Year Partnership with BlackRock Aladdin to Further Enhance Access to Corporate Bond Liquidity
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock’s transfer of Bitcoin and Ethereum to Coinbase Prime appears to be a routine crypto-related custody or treasury move, with unclear direct impact on earnings. BlackRock Sends $217M in Bitcoin and Ethereum to Coinbase Prime
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain wary of private-credit liquidity after BlackRock and other managers imposed withdrawal limits on some funds, keeping sentiment around BLK cautious. BlackRock shares fall as private-credit redemption fears appear to weigh on sentiment
• Negative Sentiment: BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust hit a new yearly low as Bitcoin weakness prompted traders to hedge downside, which may be weighing on sentiment toward the firm’s crypto-related growth narrative. BlackRock's iconic fund hits new yearly low

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $970.99 on Friday. BlackRock has a twelve month low of $917.39 and a twelve month high of $1,219.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a current ratio of 4.09. The firm has a market cap of $150.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.42. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $1,046.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,050.25.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.64 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that BlackRock will post 52.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a $5.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. BlackRock's payout ratio is currently 57.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,368.00 to $1,393.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on BlackRock from $1,238.00 to $1,105.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Barclays upped their price target on BlackRock from $1,290.00 to $1,310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,267.39.

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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