West Family Investments Inc. Invests $796,000 in BlackRock $BLK

West Family Investments Inc. bought a new position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 828 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $796,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rather & Kittrell Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Rather & Kittrell Inc. now owns 430 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $461,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its position in BlackRock by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 755 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $808,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its position in BlackRock by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 212 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Manske Wealth Management increased its stake in BlackRock by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Manske Wealth Management now owns 345 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $369,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gibson Capital LLC lifted its position in BlackRock by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Gibson Capital LLC now owns 308 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $1,159.16 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.59, a current ratio of 3.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $179.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.42. BlackRock has a twelve month low of $917.39 and a twelve month high of $1,219.94. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,062.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,043.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released 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. The company had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.73 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.90% and a net margin of 24.09%.BlackRock’s quarterly revenue was up 30.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $12.05 EPS. Analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 55.63 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $5.73 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 54.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered BlackRock from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Barclays raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,340.00 to $1,450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Zacks Research raised BlackRock from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $1,258.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,311.06.

Key BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted $189.3 million in net inflows Tuesday, bringing August inflows near $951 million. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust led with $143.6 million, signaling continued investor demand for one of BlackRock’s fastest-growing product areas. Bitcoin ETFs add $189M as August net inflows approach $1B
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock reiterated that Bitcoin remains a viable diversification asset after its sharp selloff and said a 1%–2% allocation could improve risk-adjusted returns in a traditional portfolio. The supportive stance may help sustain interest in BlackRock’s crypto offerings. Bitcoin has largely purged froth, BlackRock says
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock disclosed a roughly $3.45 billion stake in Biogen, whose shares reached a 52-week high after an earnings beat and upgraded outlook. The investment highlights the scale of BlackRock’s asset-management platform, though gains primarily accrue to fund investors rather than directly to BLK earnings. Biogen stock surges after BlackRock investment
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock Canada announced monthly cash distributions for numerous iShares ETFs, with payments scheduled for August 31 to investors of record on August 26. The announcement supports product visibility and investor engagement but does not materially change BlackRock’s earnings outlook. BlackRock Canada announces August cash distributions
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock’s HPS private-credit unit was reported among creditors taking over MBS Group alongside Oaktree Capital. The development may demonstrate private-credit activity, while also highlighting potential credit and workout risks. BlackRock’s HPS among creditors taking over MBS Group
• Negative Sentiment: Rosen Law Firm said it is investigating potential securities claims involving BlackRock mutual funds, alleging that the company may have provided materially misleading business information. The announcement is not a finding of wrongdoing, but could create legal costs, reputational risk and investor uncertainty. Rosen Law Firm investigates BlackRock mutual funds

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.