Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC Acquires Stake in BlackRock, Inc.

Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC has taken a new investment position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) during the third quarter, as revealed in its recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 664 shares of BlackRock's stock, which is valued at approximately $630,000.

Recent Institutional Activity

In addition to Wealth Alliance’s investment, several other institutional investors have also recently altered their holdings in BlackRock. In the first quarter, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC initiated a new stake valued at $27,000. Similarly, Fairscale Capital LLC entered the scene by acquiring a stake worth about $31,000 during the second quarter. Other notable investments include Chilton Capital Management’s purchase of a position valued at approximately $38,000 and Olistico Wealth LLC buying in the second quarter for about $53,000. Meanwhile, ORG Partners LLC significantly increased its stake in BlackRock by 257.9% in the second quarter, now holding 68 shares valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares. Overall, institutional ownership of BlackRock stands at 80.69%.

Insider Trading Updates

In other news related to BlackRock, CEO Laurence Fink sold 29,450 shares on August 6th, for an average price of $843.25. This transaction totaled approximately $24,833,712.50. After this sale, he still retains ownership of 353,718 shares valued around $298,272,703.50, reflecting no change in his ownership percentage. Furthermore, Director Mark Wiedman sold 12,000 shares on August 30th at an average price of $900.00, bringing in a total of $10,800,000.00. This left him with 6,480 shares worth about $5,832,000, also representing a negligible change in his position. In total, insiders sold 66,042 shares valued at $56,857,777 over the last three months, while corporate insiders currently possess 0.90% of the company's stock.

Current Stock Performance

As of Friday, BlackRock's stock opened at $1,007.02. The company has a 50-day moving average of $915.45 and a 200-day moving average of $837.50, alongside a market capitalization of $149.64 billion. With a PE ratio of 25.59 and a beta of 1.30, BlackRock shows a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, and both current and quick ratios standing at 5.06. Over the past year, shares have ranged between a low of $596.18 and a high of $1,032.00.

Earnings Report Highlights

On October 11th, BlackRock released its latest earnings report, announcing earnings per share (EPS) of $11.46 for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $10.42 by $1.04. The firm achieved a return on equity of 15.44% and reported a net margin of 32.36%. Its total revenue for the quarter reached $5.20 billion, surpassing the consensus estimate of $5.03 billion and showing a growth of 14.9% from the same period last year. Analysts are forecasting a yearly EPS of 41.73 for BlackRock.

Dividend Announcement

BlackRock also announced a quarterly dividend recently, which was paid on September 23rd. Shareholders of record as of September 9th received a dividend of $5.10, translating to an annualized dividend of $20.40 and a yield of 2.03%. The dividend payout ratio is currently at 51.84%.

Analyst Ratings

Various research firms have reviewed BlackRock in recent weeks. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target from $1,000.00 to $1,070.00 and assigned an "overweight" rating. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price estimate from $915.00 to $934.00, giving it an "outperform" rating. Similarly, JPMorgan Chase & Co. pushed their target from $774.00 to $864.00 while maintaining a "neutral" rating. Morgan Stanley raised their target from $1,150.00 to $1,245.00, rating it as "overweight", and The Goldman Sachs Group also increased its price objective from $960.00 to $1,040.00, maintaining a "buy" rating. Currently, three analysts rate the stock with a hold rating, while eleven consider it a buy, resulting in an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of approximately $991.46.

Company Overview

BlackRock, Inc. is a publicly traded investment manager that primarily provides services to institutional, intermediary, and individual investors. Its clients include pension plans, insurance companies, mutual funds, endowments, governmental agencies, and various corporations.

investment, shares, BlackRock