BlackRock $BLK is London Co. of Virginia’s 9th Largest Position

London Co. of Virginia trimmed its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 6.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 395,591 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 26,298 shares during the period. BlackRock makes up approximately 2.3% of London Co. of Virginia’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. London Co. of Virginia owned approximately 0.25% of BlackRock worth $380,463,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,615,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,078,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 2nd quarter valued at about $259,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 2nd quarter valued at about $548,000. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 2nd quarter valued at about $98,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of BLK opened at $1,054.61 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $163.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.21, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 4.09 and a quick ratio of 4.09. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $917.39 and a 1-year high of $1,219.94. The company has a 50-day moving average of $1,029.48 and a 200 day moving average of $1,042.05.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $13.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.69 by $1.22. The business had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.73 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.09% and a return on equity of 15.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 30.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $12.05 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that BlackRock will post 55.63 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $5.73 per share. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded BlackRock from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $1,165.00 to $1,364.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. UBS Group raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,270.00 to $1,320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded BlackRock from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday. BNP Paribas Exane boosted 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, TD Cowen decreased their price target on BlackRock from $1,238.00 to $1,105.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $1,304.29.

Key BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock announced a quarterly dividend of $5.73 per share, reinforcing confidence in the firm’s cash generation and shareholder returns. BlackRock Declares Quarterly Dividend of $5.73 on Common Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Investor interest in BlackRock’s ETF franchise remains strong, with reports highlighting continued momentum in iShares and the recovery in Bitcoin ETF inflows led by IBIT. BlackRock (BLK) Could Be 21% Below Fair Value As Dividend Signals Confidence BlackRock’s IBIT Leads Nearly $1B Bitcoin ETF Recovery as Inflows Hit 7 Straight Days
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock is also being tied to large-scale growth opportunities, including a reported $12.3 billion bond financing for Meta’s Texas AI data facility, underscoring its reach in capital markets and infrastructure finance. BlackRock (BLK) Markets $12.3B in Bonds for Meta’s Texas AI Data Facility
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock disclosed a larger stake in Qiagen, raising its voting power to 13%; this is notable for BlackRock’s portfolio activity, but it is not a direct catalyst for BLK earnings. BlackRock builds 11.6% stake in Qiagen, lifting voting power to 13%
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock joined other firms in a $15 million Bitcoin security consortium focused on quantum-resistant protections, a long-term strategic initiative with limited immediate financial impact. BlackRock, Coinbase and Strategy Pledge $15M to Quantum-Proof Bitcoin
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage noted bond investors demanding higher yields on the Meta-linked financing deal, which may reflect increased caution around AI infrastructure risk and could slightly pressure sentiment around BlackRock’s role in the transaction. Bond investors demand higher yields on BlackRock AI-linked financing deal

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BlackRock news, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was 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 directly owned 210,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $222,082,527.60. The trade was a 3.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 230,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $242,168,583.80. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 1.92% of the company’s stock.

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.