North Dakota State Investment Board Takes Position in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• North Dakota State Investment Board initiated a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter, buying 5,240 shares worth about $5.6 million.
• BlackRock continues to attract institutional interest, with other hedge funds adjusting their stakes and institutional investors owning 80.69% of the company.
• The company’s latest results were strong, as BlackRock reported EPS of $12.53 and revenue of $6.70 billion, both ahead of analyst expectations and up sharply year over year.

North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,240 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $5,609,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Shum Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Shum Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,183 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,336,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME now owns 321 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Rather & Kittrell Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Rather & Kittrell Inc. now owns 430 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $461,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 755 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $808,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,097 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,279,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s GIP unit is teaming with Temasek and Abu Dhabi-linked investors to target up to $30 billion in infrastructure deals, a sign that the firm continues to expand its alternative-investments platform and fee-earning asset base. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan increased its holdings of BlackRock’s IBIT Bitcoin ETF by 174%, reinforcing institutional demand for BlackRock’s crypto-linked products and supporting the company’s ETF growth story. Cointelegraph article
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock is also being highlighted for income-focused ETF demand, with several high-yield iShares funds offering yields above 6%, which may keep assets flowing into its ETF franchise. TipRanks article

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $1,081.49 on Monday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $1,009.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,055.04. 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 $167.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.15, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.44. BlackRock has a twelve month low of $917.39 and a twelve month high of $1,219.94.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $12.40 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.56 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.40% and a return on equity of 14.74%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $9.64 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 52.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on BLK shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,351.00 to $1,199.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target 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. Barclays raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,290.00 to $1,310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. UBS Group raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,235.00 to $1,270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,269.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 385 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,084.91, for a total value of $417,690.35. Following the sale, the director owned 3,335 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,618,174.85. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,056.60, for a total transaction of $9,233,627.40. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 210,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $222,082,527.60. This represents a 3.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 45,249 shares of company stock worth $47,671,714. Company insiders own 1.92% of the company's stock.

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.

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