Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Cuts Stake in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group cut its BlackRock stake by 4.7% in the first quarter, selling 16,309 shares and leaving it with 330,315 shares valued at about $317.7 million.
• Several major institutions remain heavily invested in BlackRock, and 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Meanwhile, CEO Laurence Fink and President Robert Kapito recently sold shares, reducing their holdings.
• BlackRock reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, while analysts remain broadly positive with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $1,269.44. The company also continues to expand its ETF lineup and Aladdin platform, which could support future growth.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 4.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 330,315 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 16,309 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.21% of BlackRock worth $317,667,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BLK. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in BlackRock by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,615,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,078,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. bought a new position in BlackRock during the second quarter valued at approximately $259,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $548,000. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in BlackRock in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $98,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS reiterated a Buy view on BlackRock, saying the company offers an attractive valuation along with a rare mix of growth and defensiveness. UBS also said BlackRock’s upcoming Q2 results should be helped by strong ETF demand, which could support earnings. BlackRock is getting ready to report, and UBS likes what it sees
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock is expanding its ETF lineup with a lower-cost Nasdaq-100 ETF and other new funds, which could help gather assets and support fee revenue over time. BlackRock's Q2 Results Seen Supported by Strong ETF Demand, UBS Securities Says
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock also expanded Aladdin private-markets benchmarking tools, a move that may strengthen its position in higher-value institutional software and data services. BlackRock Aladdin Expands Preqin Benchmarks and Indices, Advancing Transparency in Private Markets With Common Performance Measurement Standard
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock launched a liquid alternatives UCITS fund and added new private-markets benchmarking features, but these announcements are more likely incremental product updates than immediate stock catalysts. BlackRock launches liquid alternatives UCITS fund
• Neutral Sentiment: The broader financial sector was also weaker in afternoon trading, which may have added some pressure to BLK even as company-specific news remained constructive. Sector Update: Financial Stocks Decline in Afternoon Trading
• Negative Sentiment: One report said BlackRock is reducing AI exposure amid sector volatility, which could be read as a cautious positioning signal for a market segment that has been driving investor enthusiasm. BlackRock reduces AI exposure amid sector volatility: CNBC

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 230,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $242,168,583.80. The trade was a 12.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,056.60, for a total transaction of $9,233,627.40. Following the transaction, the president owned 210,186 shares in the company, valued at $222,082,527.60. The trade was a 3.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.92% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $990.39 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $153.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.43. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $1,035.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,044.39. BlackRock has a one year low of $917.39 and a one year high of $1,219.94.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $12.40 by $0.13. The company 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 quarterly revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $9.64 EPS. Equities analysts expect that BlackRock will post 53.45 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. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BLK shares. Evercore lowered their target price on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,140.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,181.00 to $1,313.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,238.00 to $1,105.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,235.00 to $1,270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,269.44.

BlackRock Company 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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