Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Boosts Position in BlackRock $BLK

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 82.3% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 13,521 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,104 shares during the quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $13,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BLK. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 23.1% during 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 during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. purchased a new position in BlackRock in the second quarter worth approximately $259,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock in the second quarter worth approximately $548,000. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the second quarter worth $98,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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 value of $35,613,645.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 230,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $242,168,583.80. This trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 transaction, the president owned 210,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $222,082,527.60. This trade represents a 3.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.92% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s crypto ETFs saw improving inflows, including fresh demand for IBIT and ETHA, which may support fee growth and reinforce BlackRock’s position as a leading crypto ETF provider.
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock is leading a $12 billion financing for new Meta data centers in Texas through its infrastructure and private-credit arms, highlighting continued momentum in higher-fee alternative assets.
• Positive Sentiment: The company recently posted record assets under management and strong quarterly results, which continue to support the long-term earnings outlook for BLK.

BlackRock Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $1,053.78 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 4.09, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $163.32 billion, a PE ratio of 25.19, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.43. BlackRock has a twelve month low of $917.39 and a twelve month high of $1,219.94. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,033.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,042.61.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $13.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $12.69 by $1.22. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.01% and a net margin of 24.09%.The firm had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $12.05 EPS. BlackRock’s revenue was up 30.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 55.24 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a dividend of $5.73 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is 54.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on BLK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised BlackRock from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $1,165.00 to $1,364.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $1,389.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,298.00 to $1,320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their target price on shares of 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, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,145.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,304.29.

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.