Forum Financial Management LP Sells 1,418 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Forum Financial Management LP decreased its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 86.3% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 225 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,418 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $216,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BLK. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in BlackRock by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 920,578 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $985,331,000 after purchasing an additional 7,457 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 251,856 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $269,572,000 after buying an additional 24,196 shares during the period. Sienna Gestion grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 51.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 22,859 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $24,299,000 after buying an additional 7,773 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,791,000. Finally, TCV Trust & Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $20,279,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $980.85 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $1,040.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,047.00. The firm has a market cap of $152.26 billion, a PE ratio of 24.62, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 4.09, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $917.39 and a 1-year high of $1,219.94.

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. The firm had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.56 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 24.40%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.64 EPS. Research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 53.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were given a $5.73 dividend. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.53%.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,050.55, for a total transaction of $35,613,645.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 230,516 shares of the company’s stock, 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 through the SEC website. Also, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,056.60, for a total transaction of $9,233,627.40. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 210,186 shares in the company, valued at $222,082,527.60. This trade represents a 3.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 1.92% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The U.S. Treasury selected two BlackRock iShares ETFs — IVV and ITOT — for the new “Trump Accounts” savings program, which could expand long-term asset inflows and reinforce BlackRock’s ETF leadership. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock also said it is updating its closed-end fund discount management programs, a move that may support investor confidence in parts of its product lineup and capital-return strategy. Yahoo Finance article
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley described the setup for traditional asset managers, including BlackRock, as favorable heading into Q2 results, suggesting the company could benefit from improving sentiment in the financial sector. Yahoo Finance article
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock announced that Phil Tseng is leaving as CEO of BlackRock TCP Capital / its private credit fund unit, a management change that adds uncertainty but is not yet a quantified financial hit. Seeking Alpha article
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock’s investment outlook turned more cautious on emerging-market equities while favoring euro-zone bonds and shorter-duration positioning, reflecting a portfolio shift rather than a direct hit to earnings. Yahoo Finance article
• Negative Sentiment: BlackRock’s private credit business is drawing scrutiny after Bloomberg reported its fund CEO is departing amid valuation probes, losses, and markdowns, which could pressure sentiment around the firm’s alternatives push. Yahoo Finance article
• Negative Sentiment: BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF IBIT has faced sizable outflows recently, highlighting softer institutional demand in crypto and creating a small drag on sentiment around the firm’s digital-asset exposure. Blockonomi article

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. TD Cowen lowered their price target on BlackRock from $1,238.00 to $1,105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on BlackRock from $1,351.00 to $1,199.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,269.44.

BlackRock 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.