Johnson Financial Group LLC Takes Position in BlackRock $BLK

Johnson Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,539 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $3,788,000. BlackRock comprises about 0.2% of Johnson Financial Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 221,123 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in BlackRock by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,167,460 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,374,394,000 after purchasing an additional 27,640 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,742,680,000. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in BlackRock by 0.6% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,841,088 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,146,663,000 after buying an additional 10,591 shares during the period. Finally, Oak Harvest Investment Services lifted its stake in BlackRock by 12,176.1% in the fourth quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 1,595,153 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,707,356,000 after buying an additional 1,582,159 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

More BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock disclosed a 5% stake in Kiwi Property Group, signaling continued activity in its institutional investment portfolio and potentially reinforcing confidence in its deal flow and global capital allocation franchise. BlackRock Takes 5% Stake in Kiwi Property Group
• Positive Sentiment: Jio BlackRock plans to give Indian investors access to global BlackRock ETFs via GIFT City, which could expand the firm’s international ETF distribution and long-term assets under management. Jio BlackRock plans access to global BlackRock ETFs for Indian investors via GIFT City
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock executives remained constructive on markets, with Rick Rieder saying earnings growth and cash moving back into stocks support the bull case, which may help investor sentiment toward the firm’s asset-management outlook. Why BlackRock’s Rick Rieder feels ‘a bit more relaxed’ about AI bull market than dotcom era
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock launched a $25 million Future Builders grant initiative to support skilled trades training; the move is more reputational and philanthropic than immediately material to earnings. BlackRock Future Builders RFP Links Skilled Trades Philanthropy And Client Relations
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock also updated ETF methodologies and climate screens in Asia, and lifted its OMV stake above 4%, both of which reflect ongoing portfolio management but are unlikely to move BLK shares on their own. BlackRock Tightens Tracking and Refines Climate Screens for India and Asia ex Japan iShares ETFs BlackRock Lifts OMV Stake Above 4% Threshold
• Negative Sentiment: One Reuters report said BlackRock’s Atlas Renewable Energy froze $1 billion in Brazil renewables investments after grid rejection issues, which may raise concerns about delays in part of its infrastructure/energy growth strategy. BlackRock’s Atlas freezes $1 billion in Brazil renewables investments
• Negative Sentiment: Ryanair disclosed that BlackRock cut its stake below 3%, which may be viewed as a modest sign of reduced exposure in one institutional holding. Ryanair Discloses BlackRock Stake Cut Below 3% Threshold

BlackRock Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $991.94 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $153.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $1,032.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,051.99. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $917.39 and a 1 year high of $1,219.94. 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 (NYSE:BLK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.40 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.56 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.40% and a return on equity of 14.74%. The firm’s revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $9.64 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 52.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $5.73 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,056.60, for a total value 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 represents a 3.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 230,516 shares in the company, valued at $242,168,583.80. The trade was a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on BLK shares. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,220.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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 report on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of BlackRock from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,269.06.

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.