Wesbanco Bank Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Wesbanco Bank increased its BlackRock stake by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, adding 1,194 shares and bringing its total holdings to 14,387 shares valued at about $15.4 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutional investors holding about 80.69% of BlackRock shares. Several large firms, including Vanguard and Oak Harvest Investment Services, also expanded their positions.
• BlackRock insiders have been selling shares, including President Robert Kapito and COO Robert L. Goldstein, with insiders selling 106,911 shares worth $114.7 million over the last 90 days.

Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 9.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,387 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 1,194 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $15,399,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,062,677 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $15,051,846,000 after purchasing an additional 221,123 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 0.6% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,841,088 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,146,663,000 after purchasing an additional 10,591 shares during the period. Oak Harvest Investment Services boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 12,176.1% during the fourth quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 1,595,153 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,707,356,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582,159 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 13.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,213,561 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,414,854,000 after purchasing an additional 143,126 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 4.5% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 913,121 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,064,580,000 after purchasing an additional 39,412 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the president owned 210,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $222,082,527.60. This trade represents a 3.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,190 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,087.29, for a total transaction of $58,920,245.10. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 51,478 shares of the company's stock, valued at $55,971,514.62. This represents a 51.28% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 106,911 shares of company stock valued at $114,670,698. 1.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

More BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock is drawing interest from investors after reports highlighted its new Aladdin private credit features with Preqin, which could strengthen its data and analytics offering in a growing market and support future asset-management revenue. BlackRock (BLK) Valuation Check As New Aladdin Private Credit Features With Preqin Draw Focus
• Positive Sentiment: CEO Larry Fink’s push for clearer crypto and tokenization rules, along with comments that “compute futures” could become a new asset class, reinforces BlackRock’s reputation as an innovation leader in digital assets and next-generation markets. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink Is Demanding Crypto Regulations. Here's What It Means for Investors.
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s ETF franchise continues to be highlighted as a major competitive advantage, with articles pointing to lower fees, scale, and liquidity benefits that could keep supporting inflows into iShares products. BlackRock Touts ETFs as Liquidity Antidote to Private Exposure
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock’s philanthropic $30 million Texas workforce initiative may improve brand and public relations, but it is unlikely to move the stock materially in the near term. BlackRock Launches Signature Philanthropic Initiative in Texas with $30M Commitment to Grow Electrical Workforce
• Negative Sentiment: Recent reports that BlackRock cut the value of parts of its private credit portfolio, including markdowns tied to software borrowers, are a reminder that credit risk remains elevated in a softer lending environment. BlackRock cut private credit fund's value by 5% in first quarter
• Negative Sentiment: News that a BlackRock Asia private credit fund is trying to recover money from a defaulted China loan adds to concerns about underwriting quality and credit performance in the firm’s private markets business. BlackRock Fund Faces Test in Recovering Defaulted China Loan

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,290.00 to $1,310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,181.00 to $1,313.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,220.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,368.00 to $1,393.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,269.06.

BlackRock Price Performance

BLK stock opened at $1,083.38 on Friday. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $917.39 and a 1 year high of $1,219.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $1,006.83 and a 200 day moving average of $1,056.97. The company has a market cap of $168.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.19, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 4.09 and a quick ratio of 2.98.

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

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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