Sepio Capital LP Purchases 995 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Sepio Capital LP raised its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 20.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 5,751 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 995 shares during the quarter. Sepio Capital LP’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $6,156,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in BlackRock by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,062,677 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $15,051,846,000 after acquiring an additional 221,123 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in BlackRock by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,838,937 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,108,968,000 after acquiring an additional 12,019 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in BlackRock by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,167,460 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,374,394,000 after acquiring an additional 27,640 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $2,742,680,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,070,468 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,216,105,000 after buying an additional 253,314 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock is expanding its ETF lineup with new thematic products, including a space-focused fund in Europe/UK and a planned income-paying Bitcoin ETF, reinforcing its leadership in fast-growing areas of asset management. How Investors Are Reacting To BlackRock (BLK) Expanding Into Space ETFs And Digital Assets
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that BlackRock is seeking to buy at least $5 billion of SpaceX IPO shares highlight its willingness to back high-profile alternative assets and could support fee-generating opportunities if the deal moves forward. BlackRock seeks to buy at least $5 billion in SpaceX IPO shares, WSJ reports
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock continues to dominate Bitcoin ETF flows with Fidelity, suggesting its crypto products are capturing the bulk of investor demand in the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF market. BlackRock and Fidelity Dominate U.S. Bitcoin ETF Flows
• Neutral Sentiment: The Supreme Court’s ruling shielding investment funds from some shareholder lawsuits is broadly supportive for the asset-management industry, though the direct impact on BlackRock is limited. Supreme Court Shields Investment Funds From Shareholder Lawsuits
• Neutral Sentiment: Financial stocks were firmer in afternoon trading, creating a generally supportive backdrop for BlackRock, although the move appears driven by sector rotation rather than company-specific news. Sector Update: Financial Stocks Rise Late Afternoon
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage noted BlackRock’s crypto portfolio declined by more than $12 billion early in June and that its Bitcoin holdings were sold while Ethereum was accumulated, which could raise questions about near-term digital-asset mark-to-market performance. BlackRock crypto portfolio falls by over $12 billion in early June

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,050.55, for a total value of $35,613,645.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 230,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $242,168,583.80. The trade was a 12.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 value of $9,233,627.40. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 210,186 shares in the company, valued at $222,082,527.60. This trade represents a 3.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 1.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen lowered their price target on BlackRock from $1,238.00 to $1,105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on BlackRock from $1,269.00 to $1,128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 13th. Barclays upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,290.00 to $1,310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, 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 report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,264.61.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE BLK opened at $1,017.36 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $1,038.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,051.51. BlackRock has a 12 month low of $917.39 and a 12 month high of $1,219.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.93 billion, a PE ratio of 25.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.42. 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) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.40 by $0.13. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 24.40%.The firm had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.64 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that BlackRock will post 52.8 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a $5.73 dividend. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is 57.53%.

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.