Orion Capital Management LLC Invests $858,000 in BlackRock $BLK

Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 892 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $858,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Glenview Trust Co bought a new position in BlackRock during the second quarter worth about $13,197,000. North Star Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the second quarter worth about $599,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the second quarter worth about $13,539,000. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the second quarter worth about $7,982,000. Finally, Papamarkou Wellner Asset Management inc. bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,122,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE:BLK opened at $1,162.58 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $180.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.42. BlackRock has a twelve month low of $917.39 and a twelve month high of $1,219.94. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $1,079.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,047.58. The company has a quick ratio of 3.59, a current ratio of 3.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $13.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.69 by $1.22. The company had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.73 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.09% and a return on equity of 14.90%. The firm’s revenue was up 30.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $12.05 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that BlackRock will post 55.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid a $5.73 dividend. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is presently 54.78%.

Key BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s cryptocurrency portfolio reportedly gained more than $15 billion in August, while the firm purchased more than $3.1 billion of Bitcoin and Ethereum-linked assets over eight days. Rising crypto prices and strong inflows into BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs could increase fee revenue and reinforce its position in digital-asset investing. BlackRock cryptocurrency portfolio up by over $15 billion so far in August
• Positive Sentiment: A newer BlackRock ETF is reportedly up 19% this year, outperforming JPMorgan’s popular JEPQ while charging the same fee. Better-performing products may help BlackRock attract assets and expand recurring management fees. BlackRock ETF performance comparison
• Positive Sentiment: Adroit Trading Technologies announced integration with BlackRock’s Aladdin platform, expanding access to cross-asset execution tools for mutual clients. The agreement supports Aladdin’s reach and could modestly strengthen BlackRock’s technology-related revenue opportunity. Adroit Trading Technologies Aladdin integration
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock executives continue to describe Bitcoin as a potential hedge against rising U.S. debt and deficits and say institutional demand is strengthening. This supports the firm’s broader strategy of positioning its ETFs and investment products around digital assets.
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock disclosed a significant stake in QIAGEN (QGEN) through a filing with the Dutch financial regulator. The investment may reflect portfolio-management activity, but it is not expected to have a material near-term effect on BLK earnings. BlackRock stake in QIAGEN
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock participated in Piramal Finance’s heavily oversubscribed Indian share offering, highlighting continued institutional demand for its investment-management capabilities but providing limited direct impact on BLK’s financial results.
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock’s view that the CLARITY Act is less critical for Bitcoin than for other cryptocurrencies suggests the company expects Bitcoin’s institutional adoption to continue even amid regulatory uncertainty.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded BlackRock from “strong buy” to “hold,” potentially adding valuation pressure after the stock’s substantial advance and recent proximity to its 52-week high.
• Negative Sentiment: The Rosen Law Firm announced an investigation into potential securities claims involving BlackRock mutual funds and allegations of misleading business information. The announcement is not a formal finding of wrongdoing, but it creates legal and reputational overhang for investors. Rosen Law Firm BlackRock investigation

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BLK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,258.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,298.00 to $1,320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note 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 company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,340.00 to $1,450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of BlackRock from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,311.06.

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.