Pacer Advisors Inc. Lowers Stock Position in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors cut its BlackRock position by 36.2% in the first quarter, selling 4,092 shares and retaining 7,221 shares valued at approximately $6.95 million. Institutional investors still own 80.69% of BLK.
• Wall Street remains broadly bullish, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $1,304.29. Recent targets from major firms range as high as $1,364.
• BlackRock exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $13.91 in earnings per share and $7.08 billion in revenue, with revenue rising 30.6% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $5.73 per share, equivalent to a 2.0% annual yield.

Pacer Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 36.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,221 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 4,092 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $6,945,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. First Bancorp Inc ME increased its stake in BlackRock by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME now owns 321 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $344,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Rather & Kittrell Inc. grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Rather & Kittrell Inc. now owns 430 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $461,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc. increased its position in BlackRock by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 755 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $808,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp raised its holdings in BlackRock by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 1,900 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,034,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC lifted its position in BlackRock by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC now owns 1,031 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,104,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BLK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of BlackRock from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $1,165.00 to $1,364.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,270.00 to $1,320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,304.29.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE BLK opened at $1,132.49 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $175.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.07, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.42. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $1,035.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,041.79. The company has a current ratio of 4.09, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. BlackRock has a 52 week low of $917.39 and a 52 week high of $1,219.94.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $13.91 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $6.73 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $12.05 EPS. The business's revenue was up 30.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 55.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $5.73 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.78%.

Trending Headlines about BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock expanded its digital-asset product lineup with a fund designed to generate income while investors wait through Bitcoin’s downturn. The launch could broaden demand beyond simple Bitcoin exposure and create additional fee opportunities. Bitcoin Is Down 44%, and BlackRock Just Launched a Fund That Pays You to Wait
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock launched tokenized money-market products for stablecoin reserve management and is bringing selected European funds onto JPMorgan’s Kinexys blockchain. The products invest in cash, Treasuries and repurchase agreements, potentially opening new distribution channels and strengthening BlackRock’s position in institutional blockchain finance. BlackRock brings tokenized money market funds to Europe via JPMorgan
• Positive Sentiment: S&P Global Ratings assigned an “AAAm” principal-stability rating to BlackRock’s Daily Reinvestment Stablecoin Reserve Vehicle, citing portfolio quality, counterparties, maturity structure and risk controls. The endorsement may improve institutional confidence in the new offering. S&P gives BlackRock tokenized reserve fund top stability rating
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted BLK among investment-management stocks positioned to benefit from continued asset inflows and digital transformation. BlackRock’s recent earnings beat, including stronger-than-expected revenue and earnings growth, provides additional fundamental support.
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock will serve as a validator for Circle’s Arc blockchain, alongside Visa, Mastercard, DTCC and Standard Chartered, and plans to deploy its BUIDL fund on the network. This could accelerate adoption of BlackRock’s tokenized funds. Blueprint for a Banking Fortress: Circle Redraws the Map

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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