Madison Asset Management LLC Purchases New Holdings in BlackRock $BLK

Madison Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 28,220 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $27,135,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in BlackRock by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,062,677 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $15,051,846,000 after purchasing an additional 221,123 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the second quarter worth $9,747,857,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,264,545 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $6,705,193,000 after buying an additional 33,752 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 5,190.3% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,490,422 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,876,618,000 after buying an additional 5,386,640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Temasek Holdings Private Ltd grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 4.7% during the first quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 5,330,492 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,126,387,000 after buying an additional 237,667 shares in the last quarter. 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: 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 Stock Up 0.4%

BlackRock stock opened at $1,159.16 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 3.59, a quick ratio of 3.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $917.39 and a 1-year high of $1,219.94. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,062.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,043.28. The company has a market capitalization of $179.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.42.

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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.73 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.09% and a return on equity of 14.90%. BlackRock’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $12.05 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 55.63 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $5.73 per share. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is 54.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BLK shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,260.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings downgraded BlackRock from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,383.00 to $1,488.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of BlackRock from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,311.06.

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.