623 Shares in BlackRock $BLK Acquired by North Star Asset Management Inc.

North Star Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 623 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $599,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA bought a new position in BlackRock during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Birchbrook Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock News Summary

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,260.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,298.00 to $1,320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Zacks Research downgraded BlackRock from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $1,258.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut BlackRock from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,311.06.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.4%

BLK opened at $1,162.58 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,079.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,047.58. The company has a market capitalization of $180.05 billion, a PE ratio of 27.79, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.42. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $917.39 and a 1-year high of $1,219.94. The company has a current ratio of 3.59, a quick ratio of 3.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 55.86 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

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

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.