Waverly Advisors LLC Acquires 1,226 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Waverly Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 6.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,609 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 1,226 shares during the quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $20,782,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Shum Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in BlackRock by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Shum Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,183 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,336,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the period. First Bancorp Inc ME raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME now owns 321 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the period. Rather & Kittrell Inc. boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Rather & Kittrell Inc. now owns 430 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $461,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 755 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $808,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mechanics Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 1,900 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,034,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock News Roundup

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on BLK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised BlackRock from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $1,165.00 to $1,364.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,258.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $1,389.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,304.29.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of BLK stock opened at $1,054.61 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a current ratio of 4.09. The company 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. BlackRock has a 52-week low of $917.39 and a 52-week high of $1,219.94. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,029.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,041.50.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $13.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $12.05 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 55.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BlackRock news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 230,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $242,168,583.80. The trade was a 12.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate 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.