Vest Financial LLC Has $28.75 Million Stake in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC cut its BlackRock stake by 25% in Q4, selling 8,970 shares to hold 26,864 shares valued at approximately $28.75 million at quarter-end.
• BlackRock posted a strong quarter, with EPS of $12.53 beating estimates and revenue of $6.70 billion (up 27% year-over-year), and analysts project about $52.77 EPS for the fiscal year.
• Notable insider selling occurred recently (e.g., Robert Kapito sold ~8,739 shares for ~$9.23M) as insiders sold 73,011 shares worth roughly $79.06M in the last quarter, while institutional investors hold about 80.69% of the stock and insiders own 1.92%.

Vest Financial LLC reduced its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 25.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,864 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 8,970 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $28,754,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 1,000.0% in the third quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 22 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in BlackRock by 866.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 29 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in BlackRock during the third quarter worth about $37,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:BLK opened at $1,049.73 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $163.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.48. BlackRock has a twelve month low of $893.93 and a twelve month high of $1,219.94. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $1,009.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,061.10. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

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 14.96%. 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. As a group, analysts expect that BlackRock will post 52.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: OKX / Standard Chartered partnership makes BlackRock’s tokenised money‑market fund (BUIDL) usable as institutional collateral on a major crypto venue — a practical step to increase BUIDL utility, distribution and potential fee income. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Real‑money demand for IBIT is rising — examples include Colombia’s Porvenir pension product routing exposure through BlackRock’s ETF and reports of strong ETF inflows/options activity, supporting AUM growth and recurring fee revenue. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Private markets/infrastructure activity continues: Grupo México’s planned merger of a power unit with a BlackRock‑backed Saavi vehicle highlights deal‑making that can generate management fees and carry over time. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and media comparisons to peers (Blackstone, Invesco, Schwab) and recent target‑price moves provide valuation context but are not an immediate catalyst. Watch for guidance/flows. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Feature pieces highlighting BlackRock as a strong dividend/ETF franchise support long‑term investor appeal but are unlikely to move price intraday. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares on Apr 27 (~$9.23M), reducing his stake ~3.99% — a visible SEC‑filed sale that can trigger short‑term concern about insider conviction despite his remaining large holding. Read More.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, Director Stephen Cohen sold 2,179 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,073.87, for a total transaction of $2,339,962.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,026,331.41. This represents a 24.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,083.05, for a total value of $2,166,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 61,980 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $67,127,439. This represents a 3.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 73,011 shares of company stock valued at $79,057,053. Corporate insiders own 1.92% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,181.00 to $1,313.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,220.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group cut 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 note on Wednesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of BlackRock from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,368.00 to $1,393.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,269.06.

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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