BlackRock $BLK Position Lessened by Cantillon Capital Management LLC

Cantillon Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 11.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 453,282 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 60,970 shares during the quarter. BlackRock makes up approximately 2.9% of Cantillon Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Cantillon Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.29% of BlackRock worth $435,926,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,615,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its stake in BlackRock by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. bought a new position in BlackRock in the 2nd quarter worth about $259,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new position in BlackRock in the 2nd quarter worth about $548,000. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the second quarter valued at approximately $98,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock reported record second-quarter results, with revenue and earnings beating Wall Street estimates and client assets reaching a new high, highlighting strong operating momentum. Blackrock CEO Says Client Demand Has ‘Never Been Greater’ as Assets Reach Record $15.3 Trillion
• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets raised its price target on BlackRock to $1,300 and kept an outperform view, while other firms also lifted targets after the earnings beat, signaling rising Street confidence. BlackRock price target raised by BMO Capital Markets
• Positive Sentiment: J.P. Morgan upgraded BlackRock to overweight/buy-equivalent and Bank of America reiterated a buy rating, citing growth opportunities in tokenization, private markets, direct indexing, and automation-led margin expansion. JP Morgan upgrades BlackRock to buy-equivalent after Q2 earnings
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s iShares business surpassed $6 trillion in assets, and Bitcoin ETF inflows continued to support the firm’s fast-growing ETF platform, reinforcing a strong fee-based growth story. BlackRock iShares Surpasses $6 Trillion in Assets
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles highlighted BlackRock’s expanding ownership stakes in other companies and broader market commentary, but these items are not likely to materially move BLK shares on their own.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,298.00 to $1,320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,351.00 to $1,199.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,383.00 to $1,488.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded BlackRock from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,304.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BlackRock news, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,056.60, for a total transaction of $9,233,627.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 210,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $222,082,527.60. This trade represents a 3.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,050.55, for a total value of $35,613,645.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 230,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $242,168,583.80. This trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.92% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.0%

BLK stock opened at $1,072.30 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $1,033.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,042.82. The company has a market capitalization of $166.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 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 current ratio of 4.09, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $13.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $12.69 by $1.22. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.09% and a return on equity of 15.01%. The business had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.73 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $12.05 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 30.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 55.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a $5.73 dividend. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is 54.78%.

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.