First National Bank of Omaha Acquires New Position in BlackRock $BLK

First National Bank of Omaha acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 12,474 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $11,966,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,062,677 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $15,051,846,000 after purchasing an additional 221,123 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in BlackRock during the 2nd quarter worth $9,747,857,000. State Street Corp increased its position in BlackRock by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,264,545 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $6,705,193,000 after buying an additional 33,752 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 5,386,640 shares during the period. Finally, Temasek Holdings Private Ltd lifted its stake in BlackRock by 4.7% in the first quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 5,330,492 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,126,387,000 after buying an additional 237,667 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America upped 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,258.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,260.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Monday, August 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,389.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,340.00 to $1,450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two 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 MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $1,311.06.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $1,155.78 on Wednesday. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $917.39 and a fifty-two week high of $1,219.94. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,059.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,043.05. The company has a quick ratio of 3.59, a current ratio of 3.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $179.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.42.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $13.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $12.69 by $1.22. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.09% and a return on equity of 14.90%. The firm had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $12.05 EPS. BlackRock’s quarterly revenue was up 30.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that BlackRock will post 55.63 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a $5.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.78%.

Trending Headlines about BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bitcoin strategy remains supportive: BlackRock said Bitcoin’s investment case is unchanged despite its recent decline, maintaining that a small allocation—up to 2% of a portfolio—can provide diversification. The comments reinforce confidence in BlackRock’s digital-asset offerings, including the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT). Bitcoin’s Investment Case Hasn’t Changed, BlackRock Says
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional interest in IBIT: A filing showed Jane Street held more than $1 billion in spot Bitcoin ETF shares as of June 30, including approximately $828 million in BlackRock’s IBIT. Although the snapshot does not reflect current holdings, it highlights institutional adoption of BlackRock’s crypto ETF. Jane Street Reports Over $1 Billion in Bitcoin ETF Shares
• Positive Sentiment: Technical outlook improved: BlackRock’s 50-day moving average recently moved above its 200-day average, forming a “golden cross,” a signal that can attract momentum-oriented investors. BlackRock Technical Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Income appeal: BlackRock continues to be highlighted as a dividend-paying investment manager with favorable analyst sentiment and potential price-target upside. Dividend Stocks and Income Investing
• Neutral Sentiment: Portfolio disclosure: BlackRock was identified as a major shareholder of Qiagen, but the regulatory filing primarily reflects an investment holding and does not indicate a material change to BlackRock’s operating outlook. BlackRock Revealed as Major Qiagen Shareholder
• Negative Sentiment: Data-center insurance risk: BlackRock and Meta’s $14 billion Texas data-center project reportedly faces an insurance gap, potentially exposing lenders and investors to substantial losses from catastrophic events. The issue could raise concerns about risk management and financing for large infrastructure investments. Meta and BlackRock Data Center Insurance Risk

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.