Czech National Bank Acquires 1,796 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Czech National Bank boosted its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 4.6% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 41,093 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 1,796 shares during the period. Czech National Bank’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $39,513,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BLK. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab now owns 25,906 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $24,910,000 after buying an additional 2,600 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 48.9% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 174,033 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $167,343,000 after acquiring an additional 57,143 shares during the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 4.2% in the second quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 546 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $551,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Red Spruce Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the second quarter worth approximately $3,223,000. Finally, Mechanics Bank Trust Department boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 7.9% in the second quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department now owns 3,911 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,761,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $1,128.98 on Friday. BlackRock has a one year low of $917.39 and a one year high of $1,219.94. The company has a market cap of $174.98 billion, a PE ratio of 26.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $1,037.16 and a 200-day moving average of $1,041.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 4.09 and a quick ratio of 4.09.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $13.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $12.69 by $1.22. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.01% and a net margin of 24.09%.The business had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $12.05 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 30.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 55.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

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

Trending Headlines about BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock is promoting model portfolios as a way to bring private-market funds to affluent individual investors. Wider distribution could increase fee-generating assets and strengthen BlackRock’s position in alternatives. Wall Street touts outsourced allocation ploy in bid to market private funds to individuals
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock is expanding blockchain-based products, including tokenized European money-market funds through JPMorgan’s Kinexys platform. The initiative supports long-term growth in digital assets and institutional liquidity products. BlackRock brings tokenized money market funds to Europe via JPMorgan
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock is among the validators for Circle’s planned Arc blockchain and intends to deploy its BUIDL digital liquidity fund on the network. The relationship could help accelerate adoption of tokenized securities and reinforce BlackRock’s digital-asset leadership. Blueprint for a Banking Fortress: Circle Redraws the Map
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock will conduct a one-for-three reverse split of its iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA). The action raises the per-share price but does not change investors’ proportional ownership or the fund’s underlying value. BlackRock’s Ethereum ETF To Undergo 1-For-3 Reverse Split
• Negative Sentiment: BlackRock TCP Capital Corp. (NASDAQ: TCPC), an affiliated business-development company, is transferring approximately $523 million of loans—nearly half of its debt investments—to a Pantheon-backed fund while cutting leverage and reviewing strategic options. The move may reduce risk, but the scale of the restructuring highlights stress in private credit and could weigh on sentiment toward BlackRock’s alternatives platform. BlackRock Offloads $523 Million in Loans to Rescue Troubled Private Credit Fund

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on BLK shares. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,298.00 to $1,320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $1,389.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,238.00 to $1,105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,270.00 to $1,320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $1,258.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $1,304.29.

BlackRock 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.