Patton Fund Management Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Patton Fund Management sharply cut its BlackRock stake by 84.3% in the first quarter, selling 1,558 shares and leaving it with 291 shares valued at about $280,000.
• BlackRock’s latest earnings beat expectations, with EPS of $12.53 and revenue of $6.70 billion, both ahead of analyst estimates. Revenue also rose 27% from a year earlier.
• The company continues to support shareholders with a $5.73 quarterly dividend, equal to an annualized yield of about 2.4%. Meanwhile, analysts remain generally positive, with an average rating of Moderate Buy.

Patton Fund Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 84.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 291 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 1,558 shares during the period. Patton Fund Management Inc.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $280,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Red Door Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,934 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,860,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock by 92.5% in the 1st quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 2,248 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,162,000 after acquiring an additional 1,080 shares during the last quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,286 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,237,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in BlackRock by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 105,806 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $101,755,000 after acquiring an additional 6,447 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,450 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $6,726,000 after buying an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Trading Down 1.5%

NYSE BLK opened at $950.63 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $147.57 billion, a PE ratio of 23.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.42. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $917.39 and a 1-year high of $1,219.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $1,043.56 and a 200-day moving average of $1,048.73. 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 (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $6.70 billion for 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%.BlackRock's revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.64 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 52.8 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.53%.

BlackRock News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock is being highlighted as a beneficiary of the next phase of the AI buildout, with analysts pointing to infrastructure, energy security, and power bottlenecks as major investment areas beyond chipmakers. BlackRock Flags Big AI Trade Beyond Nvidia, AMD, Micron
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s Aladdin platform is expanding its integration with Ethena’s tokenized dollar suite, reinforcing the company’s push into tokenization and institutional digital-asset infrastructure. BlackRock’s Aladdin Platform Expands Integration with Ethena’s Tokenized Dollar Suite
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) reportedly surpassed Fidelity in Bitcoin ETF assets, underscoring its leadership in the fast-growing ETF category. BlackRock’s IBIT Reportedly Surpasses Fidelity In Bitcoin ETF Assets
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street is watching BlackRock’s upcoming quarterly report, with expectations for continued earnings growth but only at a modest pace, making the results a key near-term catalyst. Earnings Preview: What To Expect From BlackRock’s Report
• Negative Sentiment: Crypto sentiment is a drag, as Bitcoin ETFs are set for their worst month of outflows and IBIT investors are reportedly nursing steep losses, which could weigh on enthusiasm for BlackRock’s flagship crypto product. Bitcoin ETFs Set for Worst Month With $4 Billion in Outflows BlackRock IBIT investors are now nursing a 40% loss
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of a large Bitcoin transfer tied to ETF settlement activity also highlight weaker institutional demand in June, adding to concerns around IBIT flows. BlackRock Bitcoin Outflow Hits $446M in Coinbase Prime Transfer

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on BLK shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,290.00 to $1,310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Evercore reduced their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,140.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 8th. UBS Group lifted 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 note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of BlackRock from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,269.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were 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 $242,168,583.80. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the firm'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 trade 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 owned by insiders.

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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