Montag A & Associates Inc. Buys 1,236 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Montag A & Associates boosted its BlackRock stake by 118.4% in the first quarter, buying 1,236 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 2,280 shares worth about $2.19 million.
• Several analysts remain constructive on BlackRock, with firms including UBS, Goldman Sachs, and KBW raising targets or reiterating bullish ratings. The consensus view is still Moderate Buy with a target price of about $1,269.44.
• BlackRock continues to post solid operating results and shareholder returns, recently beating quarterly earnings and revenue estimates and paying a $5.73 quarterly dividend that annualizes to $22.92 per share.

Montag A & Associates Inc. increased its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 118.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,280 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares during the quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $2,193,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Birchbrook Inc. purchased a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS reiterated a Buy view on BlackRock, saying the company offers an attractive valuation along with a rare mix of growth and defensiveness. UBS also said BlackRock’s upcoming Q2 results should be helped by strong ETF demand, which could support earnings. BlackRock is getting ready to report, and UBS likes what it sees
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock is expanding its ETF lineup with a lower-cost Nasdaq-100 ETF and other new funds, which could help gather assets and support fee revenue over time. BlackRock's Q2 Results Seen Supported by Strong ETF Demand, UBS Securities Says
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock also expanded Aladdin private-markets benchmarking tools, a move that may strengthen its position in higher-value institutional software and data services. BlackRock Aladdin Expands Preqin Benchmarks and Indices, Advancing Transparency in Private Markets With Common Performance Measurement Standard
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock launched a liquid alternatives UCITS fund and added new private-markets benchmarking features, but these announcements are more likely incremental product updates than immediate stock catalysts. BlackRock launches liquid alternatives UCITS fund
• Neutral Sentiment: The broader financial sector was also weaker in afternoon trading, which may have added some pressure to BLK even as company-specific news remained constructive. Sector Update: Financial Stocks Decline in Afternoon Trading
• Negative Sentiment: One report said BlackRock is reducing AI exposure amid sector volatility, which could be read as a cautious positioning signal for a market segment that has been driving investor enthusiasm. BlackRock reduces AI exposure amid sector volatility: CNBC

Insider Activity

In other BlackRock news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 230,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $242,168,583.80. The trade was a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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. This trade represents 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BLK shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of BlackRock from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,181.00 to $1,313.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,235.00 to $1,270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, TD Cowen cut 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, BlackRock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,269.44.

BlackRock Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of BLK opened at $990.39 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 4.09 and a quick ratio of 4.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $153.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.43. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $917.39 and a 1 year high of $1,219.94. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $1,035.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,044.39.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $12.40 by $0.13. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.40% and a return on equity of 14.74%. The company had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $9.64 earnings per share. BlackRock's quarterly revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that BlackRock will post 53.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a $5.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. BlackRock's payout ratio is 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.

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