Johnson Financial Group Inc. Makes New $788,000 Investment in BlackRock $BLK

Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 820 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $788,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,615,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $259,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new position in BlackRock in the 2nd quarter valued at $548,000. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in BlackRock in the 2nd quarter valued at $98,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted $189.3 million in net inflows Tuesday, bringing August inflows near $951 million. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust led with $143.6 million, signaling continued investor demand for one of BlackRock’s fastest-growing product areas. Bitcoin ETFs add $189M as August net inflows approach $1B
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock reiterated that Bitcoin remains a viable diversification asset after its sharp selloff and said a 1%–2% allocation could improve risk-adjusted returns in a traditional portfolio. The supportive stance may help sustain interest in BlackRock’s crypto offerings. Bitcoin has largely purged froth, BlackRock says
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock disclosed a roughly $3.45 billion stake in Biogen, whose shares reached a 52-week high after an earnings beat and upgraded outlook. The investment highlights the scale of BlackRock’s asset-management platform, though gains primarily accrue to fund investors rather than directly to BLK earnings. Biogen stock surges after BlackRock investment
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock Canada announced monthly cash distributions for numerous iShares ETFs, with payments scheduled for August 31 to investors of record on August 26. The announcement supports product visibility and investor engagement but does not materially change BlackRock’s earnings outlook. BlackRock Canada announces August cash distributions
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock’s HPS private-credit unit was reported among creditors taking over MBS Group alongside Oaktree Capital. The development may demonstrate private-credit activity, while also highlighting potential credit and workout risks. BlackRock’s HPS among creditors taking over MBS Group
• Negative Sentiment: Rosen Law Firm said it is investigating potential securities claims involving BlackRock mutual funds, alleging that the company may have provided materially misleading business information. The announcement is not a finding of wrongdoing, but could create legal costs, reputational risk and investor uncertainty. Rosen Law Firm investigates BlackRock mutual funds

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE:BLK opened at $1,159.16 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $179.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.70, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a 50 day moving average of $1,062.77 and a 200 day moving average of $1,043.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 3.59 and a quick ratio of 3.59. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $917.39 and a 1-year high of $1,219.94.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.73 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.09% and a return on equity of 14.90%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 30.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $12.05 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that BlackRock will post 55.63 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a $5.73 dividend. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of BlackRock from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,340.00 to $1,450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded BlackRock from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $1,165.00 to $1,364.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,383.00 to $1,488.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut BlackRock from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BlackRock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $1,311.06.

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.