Norges Bank Purchases Shares of 2,562,438 BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Norges Bank disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in BlackRock, buying 2,562,438 shares valued at about $2.74 billion. The fund now owns roughly 1.65% of the asset manager.
• Institutional ownership in BlackRock remains high, with hedge funds and other investors holding about 80.69% of the stock. Several other funds also added to or initiated positions during the quarter.
• BlackRock’s latest quarter showed solid results, with EPS of $12.53 and revenue of $6.70 billion, both above estimates. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $5.73 per share, implying a 2.2% yield.

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,562,438 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $2,742,680,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.65% of BlackRock as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BLK. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at $80,184,000. Triglav Investments D.O.O. acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth about $489,000. Zhang Financial LLC lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 1,197 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,281,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth about $2,018,000. Finally, National Pension Service raised its position in BlackRock by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 318,324 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $340,715,000 after acquiring an additional 11,425 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on BLK. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,220.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. UBS Group boosted their price target 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. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,238.00 to $1,105.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,351.00 to $1,199.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,269.00 to $1,128.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,269.06.

Insider Activity

In other BlackRock news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the business's 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 in the company, valued at approximately $242,168,583.80. The trade was a 12.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 210,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $222,082,527.60. The trade was a 3.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.92% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

BlackRock Price Performance

NYSE BLK opened at $1,045.88 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $1,029.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,053.69. The company has a current ratio of 4.09, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market cap of $162.35 billion, a PE ratio of 26.25, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.44. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $917.39 and a 1 year high of $1,219.94.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $12.40 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.56 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 24.40%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $9.64 EPS. On average, analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $5.73 per share. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. BlackRock's payout ratio is presently 57.53%.

BlackRock News Roundup

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

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.

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.