Davis Asset Management L.P. Acquires Shares of 2,100 BlackRock $BLK

Davis Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 2,100 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $2,019,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BLK. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in BlackRock by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,062,677 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $15,051,846,000 after acquiring an additional 221,123 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in BlackRock during the second quarter worth $9,747,857,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 0.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 33,752 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 5,190.3% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,490,422 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,876,618,000 after purchasing an additional 5,386,640 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Temasek Holdings Private Ltd raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 4.7% in the first quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 5,330,492 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,126,387,000 after purchasing an additional 237,667 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BLK. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of BlackRock from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,383.00 to $1,488.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,260.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,311.06.

BlackRock Price Performance

NYSE:BLK opened at $1,157.28 on Friday. BlackRock has a 52 week low of $917.39 and a 52 week high of $1,219.94. The firm has a market cap of $179.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.42. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,067.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,044.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 3.59 and a current ratio of 3.59.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $13.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $12.05 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that BlackRock will post 55.86 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid 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 54.78%.

Key BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong Bitcoin ETF demand could support fee revenue. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust led recent U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF inflows, including $284.7 million in one session and $588.5 million over three days. Continued cryptocurrency demand could increase assets under management and fee income. Bitcoin ETF Inflows Hit $517M While BTC Tests Key Resistance
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend appeal is drawing investor attention. A recent analysis describes BlackRock as an attractive dividend stock, reinforcing the company’s appeal to income-oriented investors after its latest quarter exceeded expectations on both earnings and revenue. Why BlackRock Is a Great Dividend Stock Right Now
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock continues deploying capital and expanding alternative-asset exposure. The firm and Oaktree seized debt-laden movie servicer MBS, highlighting potential opportunities in distressed and private credit markets, though such investments also carry execution risk. BlackRock, Oaktree Seize Debt-Laden Movie Servicer MBS
• Neutral Sentiment: Large Qiagen stake creates potential strategic upside but adds concentration risk. Dutch regulatory filings show BlackRock owns roughly 11.5% of Qiagen’s capital and more than 12% of its voting rights. The holding demonstrates significant investment activity, but the filings do not indicate a change in BlackRock’s operating outlook. BlackRock Reveals Stake in Qiagen
• Negative Sentiment: A law firm’s investigation remains an overhang. Rosen Law Firm is seeking investors who may have suffered losses in BlackRock mutual funds amid allegations that business information was materially misleading. This is only an investigation announcement, not a finding of wrongdoing, but it could create reputational and legal risk. BlackRock Investor News

BlackRock Company 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.