900 Shares in BlackRock $BLK Acquired by Lecap Asset Management Ltd.

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 900 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $963,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in BLK. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in BlackRock by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,615,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its stake in BlackRock by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. bought a new position in BlackRock in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $259,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new position in BlackRock in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $548,000. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in BlackRock in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $98,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Stephen Cohen sold 2,179 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,073.87, for a total transaction of $2,339,962.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,026,331.41. This trade represents a 24.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,190 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,087.29, for a total transaction of $58,920,245.10. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 51,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,971,514.62. This represents a 51.28% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 84,272 shares of company stock valued at $92,323,426 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat expectations — BlackRock reported stronger-than-expected revenue and EPS with healthy net inflows, which supports fee growth and the stock’s rally. BlackRock, Inc. Just Beat Earnings Expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Senior management bullish — Rick Rieder highlighted “extraordinary” equity technicals and strong earnings momentum on Bloomberg, reinforcing a risk-on view that can attract flows into BlackRock products. BlackRock’s Rieder Says Equity Technicals Are Extraordinary
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support and higher targets — Recent analyst notes and a new UBS price target lift sentiment and provide cover for buyers after the earnings print. BlackRock Given New $1,270.00 Price Target at UBS Group
• Positive Sentiment: Media endorsements and product demand — Commentary (including Jim Cramer) and attention to BlackRock’s private-credit capabilities and high-yield iShares ETFs may support asset-gathering prospects. Jim Cramer Highlights “BlackRock Has Good Private Credit”
• Neutral Sentiment: Product innovation / retirement flows — Coverage about private assets possibly entering 401(k)s and interest in BlackRock dividend/high-yield ETFs could expand addressable market over time, but adoption and regulation are still uncertain. Private Assets Could Join Your 401(k): What You Need To Know 5 Best High-Yield BlackRock Dividend ETFs Paying Over 5%
• Negative Sentiment: Private-credit liquidity concerns — Investors remain wary after a March cap on quarterly repurchases at BlackRock’s HPS corporate-lending vehicle and softer quarter-end AUM versus year-end, which pressured sentiment and prompted a post-earnings pullback earlier in the week. BlackRock slips 3.2% as investors digest Q1 results and lingering private-credit concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Investor lawsuit inquiry — Pomerantz has opened an investigation into BLK investor claims; legal action can create headline risk and potential costs, keeping some investors cautious. Pomerantz Law Firm Investigates Claims On Behalf of Investors of BlackRock

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on BLK. CICC Research increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,181.00 to $1,313.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,269.00 to $1,128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,220.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,290.00 to $1,310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,266.28.

BlackRock Price Performance

BLK stock opened at $1,052.56 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $1,012.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,067.04. The company has a market capitalization of $163.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.42, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.48. BlackRock has a 52-week low of $845.82 and a 52-week high of $1,219.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $12.40 by $0.13. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.40% and a return on equity of 14.96%. The firm had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

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.