National Pension Service Purchases 11,425 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• National Pension Service increased its BlackRock stake by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, adding 11,425 shares to bring its total holdings to 318,324 shares valued at about $340.7 million.
• BlackRock reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $12.53 beating estimates and revenue of $6.70 billion topping expectations. Revenue rose 27% year over year, reinforcing solid operating momentum.
• Several analysts raised price targets on BlackRock and maintained bullish ratings, with the consensus view at Moderate Buy and an average price target of about $1,269. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $5.73 per share, yielding about 2.2% annualized.

National Pension Service raised its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 318,324 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 11,425 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned 0.21% of BlackRock worth $340,715,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BLK. Birchbrook Inc. bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 866.7% in the third quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 29 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the third quarter worth $36,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

More BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Negative Sentiment: BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) posted near-record outflows as Bitcoin dropped below key levels, signaling weaker demand for one of the firm’s most visible growth products. BlackRock Bitcoin ETF sees near-record outflows as BTC dips below $75K
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of a mysterious trader dumping about $1 billion from a BlackRock ETF and a separate large IBIT selloff reinforced concerns that institutional investors are de-risking crypto exposure. Mysterious trader dumps $1B from BlackRock ETF
• Negative Sentiment: BlackRock’s stock also fell as the broader market advanced, suggesting investors may be rotating out of the name amid short-term crypto-related noise. BlackRock (BLK) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Outside crypto, BlackRock continues to benefit from scale and strong earnings momentum, with recent quarterly results beating estimates and revenue rising sharply year over year.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of BlackRock 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 directly owned 210,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at $222,082,527.60. This represents a 3.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

BlackRock Price Performance

NYSE:BLK opened at $1,046.39 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.44. BlackRock has a 52-week low of $917.39 and a 52-week high of $1,219.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $1,028.21 and a 200 day moving average of $1,053.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a current ratio of 4.09.

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

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,235.00 to $1,270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,181.00 to $1,313.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,368.00 to $1,393.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,269.06.

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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