Benjamin Edwards Inc. Buys 1,359 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 20.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,126 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,359 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $7,818,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BLK. Flputnam Investment Management Co. boosted its stake in BlackRock by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 16,660 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $16,019,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 5.4% in the second quarter. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA now owns 295 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the second quarter valued at approximately $407,000. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 9.1% during the second quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 7,189 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $6,913,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Toth Financial Advisory Corp increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 5.7% during the second quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 12,835 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $12,341,000 after acquiring an additional 697 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s cryptocurrency portfolio reportedly gained more than $15 billion in August, while the firm purchased more than $3.1 billion of Bitcoin and Ethereum-linked assets over eight days. Rising crypto prices and strong inflows into BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs could increase fee revenue and reinforce its position in digital-asset investing. BlackRock cryptocurrency portfolio up by over $15 billion so far in August
• Positive Sentiment: A newer BlackRock ETF is reportedly up 19% this year, outperforming JPMorgan’s popular JEPQ while charging the same fee. Better-performing products may help BlackRock attract assets and expand recurring management fees. BlackRock ETF performance comparison
• Positive Sentiment: Adroit Trading Technologies announced integration with BlackRock’s Aladdin platform, expanding access to cross-asset execution tools for mutual clients. The agreement supports Aladdin’s reach and could modestly strengthen BlackRock’s technology-related revenue opportunity. Adroit Trading Technologies Aladdin integration
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock executives continue to describe Bitcoin as a potential hedge against rising U.S. debt and deficits and say institutional demand is strengthening. This supports the firm’s broader strategy of positioning its ETFs and investment products around digital assets.
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock disclosed a significant stake in QIAGEN (QGEN) through a filing with the Dutch financial regulator. The investment may reflect portfolio-management activity, but it is not expected to have a material near-term effect on BLK earnings. BlackRock stake in QIAGEN
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock participated in Piramal Finance’s heavily oversubscribed Indian share offering, highlighting continued institutional demand for its investment-management capabilities but providing limited direct impact on BLK’s financial results.
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock’s view that the CLARITY Act is less critical for Bitcoin than for other cryptocurrencies suggests the company expects Bitcoin’s institutional adoption to continue even amid regulatory uncertainty.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded BlackRock from “strong buy” to “hold,” potentially adding valuation pressure after the stock’s substantial advance and recent proximity to its 52-week high.
• Negative Sentiment: The Rosen Law Firm announced an investigation into potential securities claims involving BlackRock mutual funds and allegations of misleading business information. The announcement is not a formal finding of wrongdoing, but it creates legal and reputational overhang for investors. Rosen Law Firm BlackRock investigation

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BLK shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,383.00 to $1,488.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $1,389.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut BlackRock from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,311.06.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE BLK opened at $1,162.58 on Monday. BlackRock has a 52 week low of $917.39 and a 52 week high of $1,219.94. 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 company has a market capitalization of $180.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.42. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $1,079.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,047.35.

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

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.0%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is 54.78%.

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.