Principle Wealth Partners LLC Invests $5.29 Million in BlackRock $BLK

Principle Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 5,504 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $5,293,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 5,190.3% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,490,422 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,876,618,000 after purchasing an additional 5,386,640 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,742,680,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its holdings in BlackRock by 106,934.0% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 1,284,408 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $128,441,000 after buying an additional 1,283,208 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in BlackRock by 200.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,451,122 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,553,194,000 after buying an additional 968,245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Owl Capital Holdings LP bought a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,012,487,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Technical momentum remains favorable. BlackRock’s 50-day moving average recently moved above its 200-day average, creating a “golden cross,” which technical analysts view as a bullish signal. After Golden Cross, BlackRock Technical Outlook Is Bright
• Positive Sentiment: Income-investor appeal remains intact. BlackRock is highlighted among dividend-paying financial stocks with favorable analyst ratings and potential price-target upside, which could support demand from yield-focused investors. These 5 Dividend Stocks Show Why Income Investing Still Matters
• Positive Sentiment: Bitcoin ETF demand is a modest supportive factor. Tudor Investment reportedly increased its position in BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF to $22.9 million, reinforcing institutional interest in the product and potentially supporting fee-related asset growth. Tudor Investment Boosts Bitcoin ETF Holdings
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation comparisons offer no decisive catalyst. A Zacks comparison of BlackRock and Affiliated Managers Group examines which asset manager provides better value, but the article does not establish a clear near-term reason for investors to favor BLK. AMG vs. BLK: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Insurance and financing risks are the main overhang. A roughly $14 billion Texas data-center campus owned by Meta and BlackRock may be significantly underinsured against catastrophic events because insurers are reluctant to provide full coverage. The potential for large uncovered losses could increase lender and investment risk concerns, likely contributing to pressure on BLK. Meta and BlackRock’s Data Centre Exposes Lenders to Insurance Gap

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on BLK. Weiss Ratings cut BlackRock from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised BlackRock from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $1,165.00 to $1,364.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Bank of America lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,298.00 to $1,320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of BlackRock from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $1,311.06.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $1,148.91 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.59, a quick ratio of 3.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $177.93 billion, a PE ratio of 27.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.42. BlackRock has a 12 month low of $917.39 and a 12 month high of $1,219.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $1,056.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,042.81.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $13.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $12.05 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 30.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 55.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid 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 payout ratio is presently 54.78%.

About BlackRock

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.