Hilltop Holdings Inc. Sells 3,267 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Hilltop Holdings Inc. lessened its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 88.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 418 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 3,267 shares during the quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $401,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BLK. RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Birchbrook Inc. bought a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on BLK shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating 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 stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,258.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,383.00 to $1,488.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $1,304.29.

BlackRock Price Performance

BlackRock stock opened at $1,061.60 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.37, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.43. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $917.39 and a 1 year high of $1,219.94. The business has a 50-day moving average of $1,029.00 and a 200-day moving average of $1,041.14. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $13.91 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.73 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $12.05 EPS. BlackRock’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 55.63 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a $5.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.78%.

Trending Headlines about BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support points to a potential rebound. JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley reportedly encouraged clients to buy BlackRock, suggesting confidence that the stock’s valuation and post-earnings weakness offer further upside. Why Two BlackRock Competitors Told Clients to Buy It
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock is backing a $15 million Bitcoin security initiative. The company joined eight other firms in the Bitcoin Security Consortium, highlighting its commitment to cryptocurrency infrastructure and potentially strengthening its long-term digital-asset positioning. Wall Street giants back $15M push to quantum-proof Bitcoin
• Positive Sentiment: Its Nasdaq-100 ETF challenger is attracting inflows. BlackRock’s iShares Nasdaq-100 ETF is gaining assets, supporting fee revenue and distribution scale, even though Invesco’s QQQ remains much larger. BlackRock’s Nasdaq ETF Challenger Is Growing
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock continues to broaden its low-cost ETF lineup. A lower-fee emerging-markets ETF could attract price-sensitive investors and increase assets under management over time, though it may pressure fees on older products. iShares Sells Nearly the Same Emerging Markets for 87% Less
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock Canada announced final July cash distributions for the iShares Premium Money Market ETF. The distribution is routine and primarily affects fund unitholders rather than BlackRock’s corporate earnings. BlackRock Canada Announces Final July Cash Distributions
• Negative Sentiment: Bitcoin ETF redemptions are a near-term headwind. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced roughly $465 million to $475 million in two-day outflows, with BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust reportedly leading withdrawals. Continued redemptions could reduce fee revenue and weaken sentiment toward BlackRock’s crypto franchise. Bitcoin ETF Selloff Deepens
• Negative Sentiment: A law firm announced an investigation into potential securities claims involving BlackRock mutual funds, alleging materially misleading business information. The announcement is a solicitation and does not establish wrongdoing, but it adds headline and litigation risk. BlackRock Investor News

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.