Modera Wealth Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Modera Wealth Management trimmed its BlackRock stake by 2.1% in the first quarter, though it still held 55,861 shares worth about $53.7 million.
• BlackRock insiders also sold shares recently: CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares and President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares, both reducing their direct holdings.
• Despite the selling, analysts remain constructive on BLK, with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and a price target around $1,304, supported by strong recent earnings and revenue beats.

Modera Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,861 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 1,214 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $53,722,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Advisortrust Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 12.0% during the first quarter. Advisortrust Partners LLC now owns 503 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $484,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in BlackRock by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 27,769 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $26,706,000 after buying an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,219 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,172,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the period. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. acquired a new position in BlackRock in the 1st quarter valued at $3,473,000. Finally, SteelPeak Wealth LLC raised its position in BlackRock by 13.5% during the 1st quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 800 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $769,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on BLK. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,238.00 to $1,105.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and set a $1,258.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on BlackRock from $1,270.00 to $1,320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, BlackRock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,304.29.

Key Headlines Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock reported record second-quarter results, with revenue and earnings beating Wall Street estimates and client assets reaching a new high, highlighting strong operating momentum. Blackrock CEO Says Client Demand Has ‘Never Been Greater’ as Assets Reach Record $15.3 Trillion
• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets raised its price target on BlackRock to $1,300 and kept an outperform view, while other firms also lifted targets after the earnings beat, signaling rising Street confidence. BlackRock price target raised by BMO Capital Markets
• Positive Sentiment: J.P. Morgan upgraded BlackRock to overweight/buy-equivalent and Bank of America reiterated a buy rating, citing growth opportunities in tokenization, private markets, direct indexing, and automation-led margin expansion. JP Morgan upgrades BlackRock to buy-equivalent after Q2 earnings
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s iShares business surpassed $6 trillion in assets, and Bitcoin ETF inflows continued to support the firm’s fast-growing ETF platform, reinforcing a strong fee-based growth story. BlackRock iShares Surpasses $6 Trillion in Assets
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles highlighted BlackRock’s expanding ownership stakes in other companies and broader market commentary, but these items are not likely to materially move BLK shares on their own.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE:BLK opened at $1,072.30 on Friday. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $917.39 and a fifty-two week high of $1,219.94. The stock has a market cap of $166.20 billion, a PE ratio of 25.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.43. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $1,033.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,043.13.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $13.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $12.69 by $1.22. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.09% and a return on equity of 15.01%. The business had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $12.05 EPS. The business's revenue was up 30.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that BlackRock will post 54.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a $5.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.53%.

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.

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.