BlackRock $BLK Shares Sold by Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V.

Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. lowered its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 13.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,924 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 5,397 shares during the quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $38,451,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,062,677 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $15,051,846,000 after buying an additional 221,123 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,838,937 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,108,968,000 after buying an additional 12,019 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,167,460 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,374,394,000 after purchasing an additional 27,640 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,742,680,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,070,468 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,216,105,000 after purchasing an additional 253,314 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,050.55, for a total value of $35,613,645.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 230,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $242,168,583.80. This trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the president directly owned 210,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $222,082,527.60. This trade represents a 3.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 1.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on BLK shares. Barclays increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,290.00 to $1,310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,368.00 to $1,393.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings raised BlackRock from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Evercore reduced their price target on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,140.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on BlackRock from $1,238.00 to $1,105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,264.61.

BlackRock News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Negative Sentiment: BlackRock’s private-credit funds saw redemption requests far above the cap, and the firm is again limiting withdrawals, which could weigh on sentiment around its alternatives business. Reuters article
• Negative Sentiment: Bloomberg and other reports said BlackRock’s HPS/HLEND private-credit vehicles capped redemptions after investors sought to withdraw more than 5%, underscoring continued pressure in the funds. Bloomberg article
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock also reported buying additional Bitcoin and Ethereum holdings, and it is preparing an income-focused Bitcoin ETF, highlighting continued growth in its digital-asset franchise. Finbold article
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that BlackRock may seek about $5 billion of SpaceX IPO shares point to strong client demand and product breadth, but this is not as immediate a driver as the redemption headlines. Reuters article

BlackRock Trading Up 1.5%

NYSE:BLK opened at $1,031.45 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $160.11 billion, a PE ratio of 25.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.42. BlackRock has a 52 week low of $917.39 and a 52 week high of $1,219.94. The company has a quick ratio of 4.09, a current ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The business’s 50 day moving average is $1,039.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,051.37.

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

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $5.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.53%.

BlackRock 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.