Entropy Technologies LP Takes $9.14 Million Position in BlackRock $BLK

Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 8,541 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $9,142,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ariadne Wealth Management LP raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Ariadne Wealth Management LP now owns 1,154 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,218,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 62.1% in the fourth quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 26,016 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $27,846,000 after purchasing an additional 9,964 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 22,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $23,548,000 after purchasing an additional 2,094 shares during the last quarter. Brasada Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Brasada Capital Management LP now owns 1,134 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AFT Forsyth & Company Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,467,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on BLK shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,290.00 to $1,310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,264.61.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE BLK opened at $1,031.45 on Friday. BlackRock has a 52-week low of $917.39 and a 52-week high of $1,219.94. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,039.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,051.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a current ratio of 4.09. The company has a market capitalization of $160.11 billion, a PE ratio of 25.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.42.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $9.64 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 52.8 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $5.73 per share. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.53%.

Trending Headlines about BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Negative Sentiment: BlackRock’s private-credit funds saw redemption requests far above the cap, and the firm is again limiting withdrawals, which could weigh on sentiment around its alternatives business. Reuters article
• Negative Sentiment: Bloomberg and other reports said BlackRock’s HPS/HLEND private-credit vehicles capped redemptions after investors sought to withdraw more than 5%, underscoring continued pressure in the funds. Bloomberg article
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock also reported buying additional Bitcoin and Ethereum holdings, and it is preparing an income-focused Bitcoin ETF, highlighting continued growth in its digital-asset franchise. Finbold article
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that BlackRock may seek about $5 billion of SpaceX IPO shares point to strong client demand and product breadth, but this is not as immediate a driver as the redemption headlines. Reuters article

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other news, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the president owned 210,186 shares in the company, valued at $222,082,527.60. This trade represents a 3.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 230,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $242,168,583.80. The trade was a 12.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.92% of the company’s stock.

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.