28,220 Shares in BlackRock $BLK Bought by Madison Asset Management LLC

Madison Asset Management LLC bought a new position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 28,220 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $27,135,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 920,578 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $985,331,000 after purchasing an additional 7,457 shares during the period. Liberty One Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 30.7% in the first quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 4,861 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,141 shares during the period. Texas Yale Capital Corp. lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 5,764 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $6,169,000 after purchasing an additional 1,405 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in BlackRock by 94.6% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 26,828 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,720,000 after buying an additional 13,040 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in BlackRock by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,838,937 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,108,968,000 after buying an additional 12,019 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $1,159.16 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $179.52 billion, a PE ratio of 27.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.42. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $1,062.77 and a 200-day moving average of $1,043.28. BlackRock has a one year low of $917.39 and a one year high of $1,219.94.

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 company had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.73 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.90% and a net margin of 24.09%.During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $12.05 earnings per share. BlackRock’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 55.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

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 paid a $5.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America boosted 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,389.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,260.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a report on Monday, August 10th. Barclays upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,340.00 to $1,450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered BlackRock from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note 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 issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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 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.