BlackRock $BLK Shares Sold by University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co.

University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. reduced its position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 36.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,161 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 2,405 shares during the period. BlackRock makes up 0.6% of University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $4,454,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 920,578 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $985,331,000 after buying an additional 7,457 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its position in BlackRock by 6,347.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 42,234 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $49,239,000 after acquiring an additional 41,579 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP increased its position in BlackRock by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 251,856 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $269,572,000 after acquiring an additional 24,196 shares during the period. Sienna Gestion raised its stake in BlackRock by 51.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 22,859 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $24,299,000 after acquiring an additional 7,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,791,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock is set to pay its next quarterly dividend on June 23, reinforcing its shareholder-return profile and income appeal for investors. BlackRock to pay dividends next week; Here’s how much 100 BLKR shares will earn
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock executive Rick Rieder said the recent rally in U.S. equities could intensify as investors redeploy cash from money market funds, a bullish sign for asset-manager flows and market activity. BlackRock’s Rieder Sees ‘Explosive’ Rally as Cash Gets Unlocked
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock Canada announced product changes across several iShares ETFs, signaling ongoing portfolio management activity in its asset-management franchise. BlackRock® Canada Announces Product Changes and Risk Rating Update
• Neutral Sentiment: Several pieces highlighted BlackRock’s ETF income products and its long-term AI investing framework, which are informative but not likely to move the stock materially on their own. 3 High-Yield BlackRock ETFs Paying 6%+ in Passive Income
• Negative Sentiment: BlackRock reportedly cut about 200 jobs globally, suggesting continued cost-cutting and organizational pressure, though the scale is modest for a firm of its size. BlackRock Sheds Another 200 Jobs, Adopting Regular Cycle of Cuts
• Negative Sentiment: Sen. Elizabeth Warren asked BlackRock and peers for details on data-center investments, adding potential regulatory and political scrutiny around its private-markets exposure. Elizabeth Warren Demands Answers From BlackRock, Blackstone, KKR Over Data Center Deals

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on BLK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on BlackRock from $1,269.00 to $1,128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 13th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of BlackRock from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Evercore cut their price objective on shares of 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,264.61.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE BLK opened at $1,042.08 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $161.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.16, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.42. The business’s 50 day moving average is $1,041.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,051.69. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $917.39 and a 12-month high of $1,219.94. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $12.40 by $0.13. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 24.40%.The business had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.56 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.64 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that BlackRock will post 52.8 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $5.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly 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 sale 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 on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,056.60, for a total transaction of $9,233,627.40. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 210,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $222,082,527.60. This trade represents a 3.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.92% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.