Patton Fund Management Inc. Trims Position in BlackRock $BLK

Patton Fund Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 84.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 291 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,558 shares during the quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $280,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Red Door Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 6.4% in the first quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,934 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,860,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC raised its holdings in BlackRock by 92.5% in the 1st quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 2,248 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,162,000 after purchasing an additional 1,080 shares in the last quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in BlackRock by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,286 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 105,806 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $101,755,000 after purchasing an additional 6,447 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,450 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $6,726,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BlackRock news, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,056.60, for a total value of $9,233,627.40. Following the sale, the president directly owned 210,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $222,082,527.60. The trade was a 3.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,050.55, for a total value of $35,613,645.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 230,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $242,168,583.80. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.92% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock is being highlighted as a beneficiary of the next phase of the AI buildout, with analysts pointing to infrastructure, energy security, and power bottlenecks as major investment areas beyond chipmakers. BlackRock Flags Big AI Trade Beyond Nvidia, AMD, Micron
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s Aladdin platform is expanding its integration with Ethena’s tokenized dollar suite, reinforcing the company’s push into tokenization and institutional digital-asset infrastructure. BlackRock’s Aladdin Platform Expands Integration with Ethena’s Tokenized Dollar Suite
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) reportedly surpassed Fidelity in Bitcoin ETF assets, underscoring its leadership in the fast-growing ETF category. BlackRock’s IBIT Reportedly Surpasses Fidelity In Bitcoin ETF Assets
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street is watching BlackRock’s upcoming quarterly report, with expectations for continued earnings growth but only at a modest pace, making the results a key near-term catalyst. Earnings Preview: What To Expect From BlackRock’s Report
• Negative Sentiment: Crypto sentiment is a drag, as Bitcoin ETFs are set for their worst month of outflows and IBIT investors are reportedly nursing steep losses, which could weigh on enthusiasm for BlackRock’s flagship crypto product. Bitcoin ETFs Set for Worst Month With $4 Billion in Outflows BlackRock IBIT investors are now nursing a 40% loss
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of a large Bitcoin transfer tied to ETF settlement activity also highlight weaker institutional demand in June, adding to concerns around IBIT flows. BlackRock Bitcoin Outflow Hits $446M in Coinbase Prime Transfer

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BLK shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,235.00 to $1,270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. TD Cowen lowered 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 report on Thursday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on BlackRock from $1,351.00 to $1,199.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,181.00 to $1,313.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,269.44.

BlackRock Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $950.63 on Tuesday. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $917.39 and a 1 year high of $1,219.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 4.09 and a quick ratio of 4.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $1,043.56 and a 200 day moving average of $1,048.73. The stock has a market cap of $147.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.42.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.40 by $0.13. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.40% and a return on equity of 14.74%. The business had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that BlackRock will post 52.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a $5.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.53%.

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.