Aviva PLC Has $131.87 Million Stake in BlackRock $BLK

Aviva PLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 123,207 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 6,402 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $131,873,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BLK. Norges Bank acquired a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,742,680,000. Oak Harvest Investment Services grew its holdings in BlackRock by 12,176.1% during the fourth quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 1,595,153 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,707,356,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582,159 shares during the period. Blue Owl Capital Holdings LP acquired a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,012,487,000. Viking Global Investors LP grew its holdings in BlackRock by 217.5% during the third quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 619,492 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $722,247,000 after purchasing an additional 424,388 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in BlackRock by 13.9% during 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Key BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock is expanding its ETF lineup with new thematic products, including a space-focused fund in Europe/UK and a planned income-paying Bitcoin ETF, reinforcing its leadership in fast-growing areas of asset management. How Investors Are Reacting To BlackRock (BLK) Expanding Into Space ETFs And Digital Assets
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that BlackRock is seeking to buy at least $5 billion of SpaceX IPO shares highlight its willingness to back high-profile alternative assets and could support fee-generating opportunities if the deal moves forward. BlackRock seeks to buy at least $5 billion in SpaceX IPO shares, WSJ reports
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock continues to dominate Bitcoin ETF flows with Fidelity, suggesting its crypto products are capturing the bulk of investor demand in the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF market. BlackRock and Fidelity Dominate U.S. Bitcoin ETF Flows
• Neutral Sentiment: The Supreme Court’s ruling shielding investment funds from some shareholder lawsuits is broadly supportive for the asset-management industry, though the direct impact on BlackRock is limited. Supreme Court Shields Investment Funds From Shareholder Lawsuits
• Neutral Sentiment: Financial stocks were firmer in afternoon trading, creating a generally supportive backdrop for BlackRock, although the move appears driven by sector rotation rather than company-specific news. Sector Update: Financial Stocks Rise Late Afternoon
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage noted BlackRock’s crypto portfolio declined by more than $12 billion early in June and that its Bitcoin holdings were sold while Ethereum was accumulated, which could raise questions about near-term digital-asset mark-to-market performance. BlackRock crypto portfolio falls by over $12 billion in early June

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 230,516 shares in the company, valued at $242,168,583.80. This trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were 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 represents a 3.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 1.92% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $1,017.36 on Friday. 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 has a twelve month low of $917.39 and a twelve month high of $1,219.94. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $1,038.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,051.51. The firm has a market cap of $157.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.54, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.42.

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

BlackRock Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on BLK shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,368.00 to $1,393.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,290.00 to $1,310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,235.00 to $1,270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of BlackRock from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,264.61.

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.