Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 102,294 BlackRock $BLK

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 102,294 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $98,362,000. BlackRock makes up approximately 1.3% of Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of BLK. Advisors Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the second quarter worth $33,847,000. Legal & General Group Plc grew 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 buying an additional 7,457 shares during the last quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,185,000. Haverford Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 2nd quarter valued at $264,500,000. Finally, Liberty One Investment Management LLC raised its stake in BlackRock by 30.7% in the 1st quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 4,861 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,141 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $1,171.83 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,070.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,044.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 3.59 and a current ratio of 3.59. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $917.39 and a fifty-two week high of $1,219.94. The company has a market cap of $181.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.42.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $13.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.69 by $1.22. The firm had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.73 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.90% and a net margin of 24.09%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 30.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $12.05 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that BlackRock will post 55.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded BlackRock from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $1,165.00 to $1,364.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. UBS Group lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,270.00 to $1,320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of BlackRock from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,260.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,298.00 to $1,320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Two investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $1,311.06.

BlackRock News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s roughly $965 million investment in Five Below (NASDAQ: FIVE) helped draw attention to its ability to deploy capital into high-growth companies. Five Below also reported strong quarterly results, sending its shares to a record high and potentially highlighting the value of BlackRock’s investment activity. Five Below Stock Soars Following BlackRock Investment
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s covered-call Bitcoin fund reportedly made its first monthly distribution, with an annualized rate of about 18.5%. The product could create a new fee and asset-gathering opportunity, although the high distribution reflects option income and may limit upside participation in Bitcoin. BlackRock Bitcoin Fund Pays First Dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock has reiterated that its long-term investment case for Bitcoin remains intact despite a sharp correction. The comments support the firm’s broader digital-asset strategy, but do not directly affect near-term earnings unless they lead to additional fund inflows. BlackRock’s Long-Term Bitcoin Thesis
• Neutral Sentiment: Routine disclosures showed BlackRock subsidiaries’ holdings in Stora Enso fell below 5%, while other reports discussed BlackRock ETFs. These items have limited immediate implications for BLK’s fundamentals. BlackRock Subsidiaries Report Stora Enso Holdings
• Negative Sentiment: BlackRock is reportedly seeking buyers for approximately $671 million of loans held by TCP Capital, using Keefe, Bruyette & Woods to explore a sale. The move is intended to reshape the private-credit vehicle after a difficult period, but it may raise concerns about credit quality, valuation and execution in BlackRock’s private-markets platform. BlackRock Puts TCP Capital Loans on the Block
• Negative Sentiment: A law firm is soliciting investors who experienced losses in BlackRock mutual funds as part of an investigation into alleged misleading disclosures. The announcement is not a formal finding, but it adds legal and reputational risk. BlackRock Investor Rights Investigation

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.