Cetera Trust Company N.A Invests $2.77 Million in BlackRock $BLK

Cetera Trust Company N.A bought a new position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 2,877 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $2,766,000. BlackRock comprises approximately 1.4% of Cetera Trust Company N.A’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Visionary Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 2nd quarter valued at $291,000. Trail Ridge Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 2nd quarter worth $1,659,000. Ames National Corp acquired a new position in BlackRock in the second quarter valued at $539,000. D.B. Root & Company LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock in the second quarter valued at $294,000. Finally, Asset One Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the second quarter valued at about $698,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on BLK shares. Zacks Research upgraded BlackRock from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,340.00 to $1,450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of BlackRock from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $1,165.00 to $1,364.00 in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of BlackRock from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $1,311.06.

BlackRock News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s roughly $965 million investment in Five Below (NASDAQ: FIVE) helped draw attention to its ability to deploy capital into high-growth companies. Five Below also reported strong quarterly results, sending its shares to a record high and potentially highlighting the value of BlackRock’s investment activity. Five Below Stock Soars Following BlackRock Investment
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s covered-call Bitcoin fund reportedly made its first monthly distribution, with an annualized rate of about 18.5%. The product could create a new fee and asset-gathering opportunity, although the high distribution reflects option income and may limit upside participation in Bitcoin. BlackRock Bitcoin Fund Pays First Dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock has reiterated that its long-term investment case for Bitcoin remains intact despite a sharp correction. The comments support the firm’s broader digital-asset strategy, but do not directly affect near-term earnings unless they lead to additional fund inflows. BlackRock’s Long-Term Bitcoin Thesis
• Neutral Sentiment: Routine disclosures showed BlackRock subsidiaries’ holdings in Stora Enso fell below 5%, while other reports discussed BlackRock ETFs. These items have limited immediate implications for BLK’s fundamentals. BlackRock Subsidiaries Report Stora Enso Holdings
• Negative Sentiment: BlackRock is reportedly seeking buyers for approximately $671 million of loans held by TCP Capital, using Keefe, Bruyette & Woods to explore a sale. The move is intended to reshape the private-credit vehicle after a difficult period, but it may raise concerns about credit quality, valuation and execution in BlackRock’s private-markets platform. BlackRock Puts TCP Capital Loans on the Block
• Negative Sentiment: A law firm is soliciting investors who experienced losses in BlackRock mutual funds as part of an investigation into alleged misleading disclosures. The announcement is not a formal finding, but it adds legal and reputational risk. BlackRock Investor Rights Investigation

BlackRock Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE:BLK opened at $1,171.83 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $1,070.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,044.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.48 billion, a PE ratio of 28.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.42. BlackRock has a 12 month low of $917.39 and a 12 month high of $1,219.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 3.59 and a quick ratio of 3.59.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $13.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $12.69 by $1.22. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.90% and a net margin of 24.09%.The company 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 business earned $12.05 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 30.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 55.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.78%.

BlackRock 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.