Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Has $32.06 Million Stock Position in BlackRock $BLK

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 33,347 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 479 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $32,065,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the second quarter worth approximately $9,747,857,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,264,545 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $6,705,193,000 after buying an additional 33,752 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in BlackRock by 5,190.3% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,490,422 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,876,618,000 after buying an additional 5,386,640 shares in the last quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd grew its holdings in BlackRock by 4.7% during the first quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 5,330,492 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,126,387,000 after buying an additional 237,667 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in BlackRock by 0.7% in the 1st 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 buying an additional 35,069 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE BLK opened at $1,162.58 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $180.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.79, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.42. BlackRock has a one year low of $917.39 and a one year high of $1,219.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 3.59 and a quick ratio of 3.59. The business’s fifty day moving average is $1,079.72 and its 200-day moving average is $1,047.58.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $13.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $12.69 by $1.22. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.09% and a return on equity of 14.90%. The company had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $12.05 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 55.86 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $5.73 per share. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.78%.

Trending Headlines about BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s cryptocurrency portfolio reportedly gained more than $15 billion in August, while the firm purchased more than $3.1 billion of Bitcoin and Ethereum-linked assets over eight days. Rising crypto prices and strong inflows into BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs could increase fee revenue and reinforce its position in digital-asset investing. BlackRock cryptocurrency portfolio up by over $15 billion so far in August
• Positive Sentiment: A newer BlackRock ETF is reportedly up 19% this year, outperforming JPMorgan’s popular JEPQ while charging the same fee. Better-performing products may help BlackRock attract assets and expand recurring management fees. BlackRock ETF performance comparison
• Positive Sentiment: Adroit Trading Technologies announced integration with BlackRock’s Aladdin platform, expanding access to cross-asset execution tools for mutual clients. The agreement supports Aladdin’s reach and could modestly strengthen BlackRock’s technology-related revenue opportunity. Adroit Trading Technologies Aladdin integration
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock executives continue to describe Bitcoin as a potential hedge against rising U.S. debt and deficits and say institutional demand is strengthening. This supports the firm’s broader strategy of positioning its ETFs and investment products around digital assets.
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock disclosed a significant stake in QIAGEN (QGEN) through a filing with the Dutch financial regulator. The investment may reflect portfolio-management activity, but it is not expected to have a material near-term effect on BLK earnings. BlackRock stake in QIAGEN
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock participated in Piramal Finance’s heavily oversubscribed Indian share offering, highlighting continued institutional demand for its investment-management capabilities but providing limited direct impact on BLK’s financial results.
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock’s view that the CLARITY Act is less critical for Bitcoin than for other cryptocurrencies suggests the company expects Bitcoin’s institutional adoption to continue even amid regulatory uncertainty.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded BlackRock from “strong buy” to “hold,” potentially adding valuation pressure after the stock’s substantial advance and recent proximity to its 52-week high.
• Negative Sentiment: The Rosen Law Firm announced an investigation into potential securities claims involving BlackRock mutual funds and allegations of misleading business information. The announcement is not a formal finding of wrongdoing, but it creates legal and reputational overhang for investors. Rosen Law Firm BlackRock investigation

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on BLK. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,298.00 to $1,320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of BlackRock from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of BlackRock from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $1,389.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,311.06.

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.