BlackRock $BLK Shares Purchased by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,406 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,227 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $9,954,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 2nd quarter worth $129,138,253,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the second quarter worth $9,747,857,000. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd increased its holdings in BlackRock by 4.7% in the first quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 5,330,492 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,126,387,000 after purchasing an additional 237,667 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in BlackRock by 0.7% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,232,973 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,032,603,000 after purchasing an additional 35,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in BlackRock by 23.3% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,495,074 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,322,283,000 after buying an additional 850,406 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock News Summary

These are some of the BLK news items that stood out recently:

• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock executives discussed liquid alternative strategies, product launches and AI-managed portfolios, highlighting areas of product development without a specific financial impact reported. Article: ETF Prime: BlackRock on Liquid Alts & the Rise of AI-Managed Portfolios
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock’s participation in a London forum on Ethereum reflects institutional interest in tokenization and blockchain settlement, but the report describes discussion rather than a specific business announcement. Article: Ethereum Draws Wall Street Attention As BlackRock And JPMorgan Join London Forum
• Negative Sentiment: Investors withdrew $269.7 million from BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) on Wednesday, contributing to more than $2 billion in outflows over nine sessions. Continued redemptions could weigh on fund-related revenue and sentiment toward the firm’s crypto business. Article: BlackRock Bitcoin ETF outflows hit $2B over nine sessions

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Rachel Lord sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,219.55, for a total transaction of $8,536,850.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,396,570.75. This trade represents a 53.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.92% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

BlackRock Price Performance

BLK opened at $1,216.48 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $188.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.37. BlackRock has a 12 month low of $917.39 and a 12 month high of $1,242.12. The company has a quick ratio of 3.44, a current ratio of 3.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,111.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,067.29.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The asset manager reported $15.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $14.32 by $1.61. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 24.22%. The firm had revenue of $7.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $8.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that BlackRock will post 57.82 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays reduced their target price on BlackRock from $1,420.00 to $1,410.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $1,341.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,275.00 price target (down from $1,300.00) on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Friday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of BlackRock from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,342.25.

About BlackRock

BlackRock, Inc. is a global investment management and financial technology company serving individuals, institutions, governments and other organizations. Founded in 1988, the company is headquartered in New York City and operates in markets around the world. BlackRock offers investment products and services across asset classes, including equities, fixed income, cash management and alternative investments. Its offerings include exchange-traded funds and other funds under the iShares brand, as well as portfolio management, investment advisory and risk management services.