Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Acquires New Stake in BlackRock $BLK

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 59,263 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $56,985,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its stake in BlackRock by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 212 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Manske Wealth Management lifted its stake in BlackRock by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Manske Wealth Management now owns 345 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Gibson Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Gibson Capital LLC now owns 308 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 230 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Diamond Partners LLC grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 2,791 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,987,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of BLK stock opened at $1,167.69 on Friday. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $917.39 and a 1-year high of $1,219.94. The firm has a market cap of $180.84 billion, a PE ratio of 27.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a 50-day moving average of $1,077.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,046.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 3.59 and a quick ratio of 3.59.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $13.91 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 14.90%. The firm 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 business posted $12.05 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that BlackRock will post 55.86 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a $5.73 dividend. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 54.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered BlackRock from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. UBS Group lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,270.00 to $1,320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,260.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a report on Monday, August 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $1,389.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,298.00 to $1,320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,311.06.

BlackRock News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s newer income-focused ETF is reportedly up 19% this year, compared with 10% for JPMorgan’s JEPQ, while charging the same fee. Strong relative performance could support additional iShares inflows and fee revenue. BlackRock ETF outperformance article
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock continues to highlight Bitcoin’s role as “digital gold” and a hedge against rising U.S. debt and deficits. Management also sees continued strength in Bitcoin, supporting the long-term case for cryptocurrency-related assets under management. BlackRock Bitcoin hedge case article
• Positive Sentiment: Adroit Trading Technologies is integrating its cross-asset execution tools with BlackRock’s Aladdin platform. The partnership may improve Aladdin’s functionality, client retention and potential technology-related revenue. Aladdin integration article
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s crypto portfolio reportedly gained more than $15 billion during August as Bitcoin and Ethereum rallied. The firm is also participating in an Nvidia-led effort tied to AI infrastructure, broadening potential future growth avenues beyond traditional asset management. BlackRock crypto and AI strategy article

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.