BlackRock $BLK Shares Sold by Groupe la Francaise

Groupe la Francaise lowered its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 29.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 27,343 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 11,379 shares during the period. Groupe la Francaise’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $25,480,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 5,190.3% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,742,680,000. Oak Harvest Investment Services increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 12,176.1% in the fourth quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 1,595,153 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,707,356,000 after buying an additional 1,582,159 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 106,934.0% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 1,284,408 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $128,441,000 after purchasing an additional 1,283,208 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in BlackRock by 200.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,451,122 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,553,194,000 after buying an additional 968,245 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock News Roundup

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $1,389.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,383.00 to $1,488.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,145.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a report on Friday, July 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,304.29.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BLK stock opened at $1,098.96 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,031.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,041.37. 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 has a one year low of $917.39 and a one year high of $1,219.94. The firm has a market cap of $170.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.43.

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

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a $5.73 dividend. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 54.78%.

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.