BlackRock $BLK Shares Sold by Mediolanum International Funds Ltd

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd cut its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 92.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,900 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 22,563 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $1,775,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 7,457 shares during the last quarter. TCV Trust & Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $20,279,000. Texas Yale Capital Corp. grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 5,764 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $6,169,000 after buying an additional 1,405 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in BlackRock by 94.6% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 26,828 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,720,000 after acquiring an additional 13,040 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its position 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 worth $4,108,968,000 after purchasing an additional 12,019 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

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

BlackRock Trading Down 1.6%

NYSE:BLK opened at $1,037.31 on Wednesday. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $917.39 and a 1-year high of $1,219.94. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,032.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,042.37. The company has a quick ratio of 4.09, a current ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.43.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $13.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $12.05 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 55.63 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $5.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.78%.

Key Headlines Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock-led infrastructure vehicles completed the acquisition of Aligned Data Centers and are committing an additional $5 billion in growth capital, reinforcing BLK’s exposure to the AI buildout and alternative-asset fee opportunities. AIP, MGX and BlackRock’s GIP Close Acquisition of Aligned Data Centers
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock Canada announced monthly July cash distributions across a wide slate of iShares ETFs, underscoring the strength and recurring income appeal of its ETF franchise. BlackRock Canada Announces July Cash Distributions for the iShares ETFs
• Positive Sentiment: Investor interest in BlackRock’s Ethereum products remains strong, with reports of fresh inflows into ETHA and a new, similar ether fund that adds another monetizable product in digital assets. Forget ETHA. iShares’ Other Ether Fund Is Nearly Identical, Except It Pays You
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Larry Fink’s comments that AI growth is constrained by electricity, plus New York’s data-center moratorium, keep attention on power bottlenecks for the AI infrastructure theme BlackRock is investing behind. Larry Fink Says AI Needs More Electricity. Google Is Trying To Need Less Of It.
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock’s ETF and asset-management announcements, including distribution updates and product coverage, are broadly supportive but not likely to move the stock on their own. BlackRock® Canada Announces July Cash Distributions for the iShares® ETFs
• Negative Sentiment: Some recent headlines note BlackRock reducing a few holdings and broader financial-sector weakness, which may add mild pressure, but these appear less important than the positive infrastructure and ETF news. Major Shareholder Announcement

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on BLK shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,270.00 to $1,320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,340.00 to $1,450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,258.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley raised 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, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,351.00 to $1,199.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,304.29.

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.