EP Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases New Position in BlackRock $BLK

EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 77,619 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $74,635,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BLK. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Birchbrook Inc. purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong Bitcoin ETF demand could support fee revenue. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust led recent U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF inflows, including $284.7 million in one session and $588.5 million over three days. Continued cryptocurrency demand could increase assets under management and fee income. Bitcoin ETF Inflows Hit $517M While BTC Tests Key Resistance
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend appeal is drawing investor attention. A recent analysis describes BlackRock as an attractive dividend stock, reinforcing the company’s appeal to income-oriented investors after its latest quarter exceeded expectations on both earnings and revenue. Why BlackRock Is a Great Dividend Stock Right Now
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock continues deploying capital and expanding alternative-asset exposure. The firm and Oaktree seized debt-laden movie servicer MBS, highlighting potential opportunities in distressed and private credit markets, though such investments also carry execution risk. BlackRock, Oaktree Seize Debt-Laden Movie Servicer MBS
• Neutral Sentiment: Large Qiagen stake creates potential strategic upside but adds concentration risk. Dutch regulatory filings show BlackRock owns roughly 11.5% of Qiagen’s capital and more than 12% of its voting rights. The holding demonstrates significant investment activity, but the filings do not indicate a change in BlackRock’s operating outlook. BlackRock Reveals Stake in Qiagen
• Negative Sentiment: A law firm’s investigation remains an overhang. Rosen Law Firm is seeking investors who may have suffered losses in BlackRock mutual funds amid allegations that business information was materially misleading. This is only an investigation announcement, not a finding of wrongdoing, but it could create reputational and legal risk. BlackRock Investor News

BlackRock Stock Performance

BLK stock opened at $1,157.28 on Friday. BlackRock has a one year low of $917.39 and a one year high of $1,219.94. The firm has a market cap of $179.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.66, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 3.59 and a current ratio of 3.59. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,067.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,044.23.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $13.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.69 by $1.22. The firm had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.73 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.09% and a return on equity of 14.90%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 30.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $12.05 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 55.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a $5.73 dividend. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 54.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on BLK. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of BlackRock from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of BlackRock from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $1,165.00 to $1,364.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,340.00 to $1,450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $1,258.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered BlackRock from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, BlackRock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $1,311.06.

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.