2,571 Shares in BlackRock $BLK Bought by North Dallas Bank & Trust Co.

North Dallas Bank & Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,571 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $2,752,000. BlackRock accounts for about 1.8% of North Dallas Bank & Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Birchbrook Inc. acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in BlackRock by 866.7% during the third quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 29 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,269.00 to $1,128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,290.00 to $1,310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,238.00 to $1,105.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of BlackRock from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,264.61.

Insider Activity

In other BlackRock news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 230,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $242,168,583.80. The trade was a 12.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,056.60, for a total value of $9,233,627.40. Following the sale, the president directly owned 210,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $222,082,527.60. This represents a 3.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 1.92% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $1,011.46 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.42. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $917.39 and a 1-year high of $1,219.94. The company has a current ratio of 4.09, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $1,035.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,051.35.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $12.40 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.56 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 24.40%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $9.64 EPS. Equities analysts predict that BlackRock will post 52.8 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $5.73 per share. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 57.53%.

BlackRock News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock launched a new space-focused ETF for European investors, the iShares Space Technologies UCITS ETF (STAR), with a fast-track IPO inclusion feature that could help attract demand for exposure to newly public space companies. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The new STAR ETF and related coverage highlight BlackRock’s ability to keep expanding its lineup in high-growth thematic investing, which supports the company’s fee-generating asset-gathering story. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Interactive Brokers began offering BlackRock ETFs in European savings plans, which broadens distribution and could help drive additional inflows into BlackRock funds. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock continues to be highlighted as a leading ETF provider with multiple funds showing upside potential, reinforcing the firm’s strong franchise in the ETF market. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock’s commentary on “mega forces” and its market outlook adds to investor attention, but this is more about long-term strategy than an immediate earnings catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Bitcoin ETF outflows remain a headwind, and BlackRock’s IBIT reportedly led exits during a week of heavy redemptions, which could weigh on sentiment around its crypto-related ETF business. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Evercore trimmed its price target on BlackRock, which may slightly temper enthusiasm even though the firm kept an outperform rating. Article Title

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.