BlackRock $BLK Shares Acquired by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 709.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 101,147 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 88,652 shares during the quarter. BlackRock comprises approximately 0.7% of QRG Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $97,259,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the second quarter worth $129,138,253,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 2nd quarter worth $9,747,857,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,264,545 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $6,705,193,000 after purchasing an additional 33,752 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 5,190.3% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,490,422 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,876,618,000 after purchasing an additional 5,386,640 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Temasek Holdings Private Ltd raised its holdings in BlackRock by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 5,330,492 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,126,387,000 after buying an additional 237,667 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s IBIT spot Bitcoin ETF reportedly attracted approximately $381 million during a record nearly $1 billion day of inflows across U.S. Bitcoin ETFs. Strong demand could support fee revenue and reinforce BlackRock’s position in digital-asset markets. Bitcoin ETFs Record Nearly $1 Billion in Single-Day Inflows
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock research argues that AI agents could drive demand for stablecoins, blockchain-based payment rails and tokenized computing capacity. If adoption accelerates, the trend could create new opportunities across BlackRock’s ETFs, digital-asset products and private-market businesses. AI Potential to Drive Crypto Demand
• Positive Sentiment: The firm launched a lower-cost ETF tracking the same index as Invesco’s QQQ, potentially helping BlackRock capture assets from competing Nasdaq-100 products and expand its ETF franchise. BlackRock Launches Lower-Cost QQQ Alternative
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock increased its reported stake in Qiagen to approximately 11.47%. The disclosure reflects a sizable investment but does not materially change BLK’s operating outlook because it is likely an investment-management holding. BlackRock Builds Stake in Qiagen
• Negative Sentiment: BlackRock strategist Gargi Chaudhuri said higher oil prices and stronger U.S. business activity are fueling inflation and Federal Reserve rate-hike concerns. The resulting decline in stocks and bonds is the clearest near-term pressure on BLK, potentially affecting assets under management, performance fees and investor risk appetite. Stocks and Bonds Slip as Oil Jumps

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,260.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of BlackRock from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,383.00 to $1,488.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,311.06.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.5%

BLK traded down $4.92 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $1,061.74. 460,708 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 755,528. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $1,110.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,048.96. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $917.39 and a 1-year high of $1,219.94. The company has a market cap of $164.43 billion, a PE ratio of 25.38, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 3.59, a quick ratio of 3.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $13.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.69 by $1.22. The company had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.73 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.09% and a return on equity of 14.90%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $12.05 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 55.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th were paid a dividend of $5.73 per share. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 8th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.78%.

About BlackRock

BlackRock, Inc is a global investment management and financial technology company serving institutional and individual investors, governments, and financial professionals. The company offers a range of investment products and services, including mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, separately managed accounts, and alternative investments across equities, fixed income, multi-asset, and other strategies.

BlackRock is also known for its iShares brand of exchange-traded funds, which provides access to markets and asset classes worldwide.