828 Shares in BlackRock $BLK Acquired by West Family Investments Inc.

West Family Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 828 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $796,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in BlackRock by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,615,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 2nd quarter valued at about $259,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 2nd quarter valued at about $548,000. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the second quarter worth approximately $98,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Price Performance

BLK stock opened at $1,159.16 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 3.59 and a current ratio of 3.59. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,062.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,043.28. The company has a market capitalization of $179.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.42. BlackRock has a 52-week low of $917.39 and a 52-week high of $1,219.94.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $13.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $12.69 by $1.22. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.90% and a net margin of 24.09%.The firm had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $12.05 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 30.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that BlackRock will post 55.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of BlackRock from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $1,165.00 to $1,364.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley increased 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 note on Thursday, July 16th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,260.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a report on Monday, August 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of BlackRock from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of BlackRock from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $1,311.06.

Key BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted $189.3 million in net inflows Tuesday, bringing August inflows near $951 million. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust led with $143.6 million, signaling continued investor demand for one of BlackRock’s fastest-growing product areas. Bitcoin ETFs add $189M as August net inflows approach $1B
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock reiterated that Bitcoin remains a viable diversification asset after its sharp selloff and said a 1%–2% allocation could improve risk-adjusted returns in a traditional portfolio. The supportive stance may help sustain interest in BlackRock’s crypto offerings. Bitcoin has largely purged froth, BlackRock says
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock disclosed a roughly $3.45 billion stake in Biogen, whose shares reached a 52-week high after an earnings beat and upgraded outlook. The investment highlights the scale of BlackRock’s asset-management platform, though gains primarily accrue to fund investors rather than directly to BLK earnings. Biogen stock surges after BlackRock investment
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock Canada announced monthly cash distributions for numerous iShares ETFs, with payments scheduled for August 31 to investors of record on August 26. The announcement supports product visibility and investor engagement but does not materially change BlackRock’s earnings outlook. BlackRock Canada announces August cash distributions
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock’s HPS private-credit unit was reported among creditors taking over MBS Group alongside Oaktree Capital. The development may demonstrate private-credit activity, while also highlighting potential credit and workout risks. BlackRock’s HPS among creditors taking over MBS Group
• Negative Sentiment: Rosen Law Firm said it is investigating potential securities claims involving BlackRock mutual funds, alleging that the company may have provided materially misleading business information. The announcement is not a finding of wrongdoing, but could create legal costs, reputational risk and investor uncertainty. Rosen Law Firm investigates BlackRock mutual funds

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.