Morningstar Investment Management LLC Sells 1,689 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Morningstar Investment Management LLC decreased its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 13.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,168 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,689 shares during the period. BlackRock accounts for 0.7% of Morningstar Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Morningstar Investment Management LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $10,740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,615,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the second quarter worth about $259,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $548,000. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $98,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the 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 transaction of $9,233,627.40. Following the transaction, the president owned 210,186 shares in the company, valued at $222,082,527.60. This trade represents a 3.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

BlackRock Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $1,054.61 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,029.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,042.05. The company has a market cap of $163.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.43. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $917.39 and a fifty-two week high of $1,219.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a current ratio of 4.09.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $13.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $12.69 by $1.22. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.09% and a return on equity of 15.01%. The business had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $12.05 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that BlackRock will post 55.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a $5.73 dividend. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.78%.

Key Stories Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock announced a quarterly dividend of $5.73 per share, reinforcing confidence in the firm’s cash generation and shareholder returns. BlackRock Declares Quarterly Dividend of $5.73 on Common Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Investor interest in BlackRock’s ETF franchise remains strong, with reports highlighting continued momentum in iShares and the recovery in Bitcoin ETF inflows led by IBIT. BlackRock (BLK) Could Be 21% Below Fair Value As Dividend Signals Confidence BlackRock’s IBIT Leads Nearly $1B Bitcoin ETF Recovery as Inflows Hit 7 Straight Days
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock is also being tied to large-scale growth opportunities, including a reported $12.3 billion bond financing for Meta’s Texas AI data facility, underscoring its reach in capital markets and infrastructure finance. BlackRock (BLK) Markets $12.3B in Bonds for Meta’s Texas AI Data Facility
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock disclosed a larger stake in Qiagen, raising its voting power to 13%; this is notable for BlackRock’s portfolio activity, but it is not a direct catalyst for BLK earnings. BlackRock builds 11.6% stake in Qiagen, lifting voting power to 13%
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock joined other firms in a $15 million Bitcoin security consortium focused on quantum-resistant protections, a long-term strategic initiative with limited immediate financial impact. BlackRock, Coinbase and Strategy Pledge $15M to Quantum-Proof Bitcoin
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage noted bond investors demanding higher yields on the Meta-linked financing deal, which may reflect increased caution around AI infrastructure risk and could slightly pressure sentiment around BlackRock’s role in the transaction. Bond investors demand higher yields on BlackRock AI-linked financing deal

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on BLK. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,351.00 to $1,199.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,238.00 to $1,105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $1,258.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,270.00 to $1,320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $1,304.29.

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.