Empowered Funds LLC Increases Stake in BlackRock $BLK

Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 11.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,825 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,146 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $10,411,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BLK. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,264,545 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $6,705,193,000 after purchasing an additional 33,752 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in BlackRock by 5,190.3% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,490,422 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,876,618,000 after purchasing an additional 5,386,640 shares during the period. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd increased its position in BlackRock by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 5,330,492 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,126,387,000 after purchasing an additional 237,667 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,197,904 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,563,524,000 after buying an additional 149,902 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded BlackRock from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $1,165.00 to $1,364.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. UBS Group raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,270.00 to $1,320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,383.00 to $1,488.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $1,258.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of BlackRock from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,304.29.

BlackRock Trading Up 1.8%

BlackRock stock opened at $1,098.96 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $1,031.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,041.37. BlackRock has a 52 week low of $917.39 and a 52 week high of $1,219.94. The stock has a market cap of $170.33 billion, a PE ratio of 26.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.43. 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 earnings results 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. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.09% and a return on equity of 15.01%. The company had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $12.05 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 30.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 55.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $5.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.78%.

Key BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Meta AI data-center venture: BlackRock and Meta Platforms announced a roughly $14 billion, 1-gigawatt data-center campus in El Paso, Texas. BlackRock-managed funds will hold about 80% of the venture, with Meta contributing assets and leasing capacity. The deal highlights BlackRock’s ability to deploy capital into large private-infrastructure projects and could generate management, financing and investment fees. Meta Launches $14 Billion Texas AI Data Center Campus With BlackRock
• Positive Sentiment: Strong quarterly results remain a tailwind: BlackRock recently reported adjusted earnings of $13.91 per share versus the $12.69 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 30.6% year over year to $7.08 billion. The results reinforce investor confidence in its operating momentum and diversified asset-gathering model.
• Positive Sentiment: Broader technology and alternative-asset exposure: Recent disclosures show BlackRock-managed funds holding significant stakes in companies including Keel Infrastructure and IonQ. While these are generally portfolio holdings rather than direct corporate investments, they reinforce the firm’s exposure to fast-growing AI, data-center and quantum-computing themes. KEEL BlackRock Stake Filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Expansion into alternative assets: BlackRock-affiliated funds are collaborating on the more-than-$600 million purchase of Anthem Entertainment’s music catalogs, adding another example of the firm’s push into specialized private assets. The transaction is strategically consistent with that expansion, but its near-term earnings impact is unclear. Influence Media Anthem Catalog Acquisition
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and market risks remain: A law firm announced an investigation involving BlackRock mutual funds, although the notice contains allegations rather than established wrongdoing. Separately, pressure in U.S. private credit and uncertainty about Federal Reserve policy could weigh on fundraising, valuations and investor sentiment. Rosen BlackRock Mutual Fund Investigation

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.