Rep. James Comer Purchases Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Representative James Comer (R-Kentucky) recently bought shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK). In a filing disclosed on January 10th, the Representative disclosed that they had bought between $1,001 and $15,000 in BlackRock stock on January 2nd.

Representative James Comer also recently made the following trade(s):

• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) on 1/2/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Dover (NYSE:DOV) on 1/2/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) on 1/2/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) on 1/2/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Uber Technologies (NYSE:UBER) on 1/2/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) on 1/2/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Home Depot (NYSE:HD) on 1/2/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Amphenol (NYSE:APH) on 1/2/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) on 1/2/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) on 1/2/2025.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE:BLK opened at $962.75 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a current ratio of 5.06. The company has a market cap of $149.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.76, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $1,029.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $943.81. BlackRock, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $745.55 and a fifty-two week high of $1,082.45.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a $5.10 dividend. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen raised their target price on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,245.00 to $1,261.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,088.67.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total transaction of $56,485,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. This trade represents a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total value of $37,851,121.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at $6,777,432. This represents a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 89,389.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,046,131 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $993,312,000 after buying an additional 1,044,962 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in BlackRock by 104,468.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 792,632 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $7,526,120,000 after buying an additional 791,874 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $330,662,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in BlackRock by 10.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,363,965 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,244,608,000 after purchasing an additional 226,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 3rd quarter valued at $115,377,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

About Representative Comer

James Comer Jr. (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Kentucky’s 1st Congressional District. He assumed office on November 14, 2016. His current term ends on January 3, 2025. Comer (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Kentucky’s 1st Congressional District. He won in the general election on November 8, 2022. Prior to serving in Congress, Comer was the Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture from 2012 to 2016, and the Kentucky House of Representatives from 2001 to 2012. He also unsuccessfully ran for Governor of Kentucky in 2015. A writer for the Louisville Courier-Journal called Comer “instrumental in the final passage of a five-year farm bill,” noting that he served on the conference committee that produced the final version of the bill. Comer is from Tompkinsville, Ky. He acted as the director of South Central Bank for 12 years and has been the co-owner of the Comer Land and Cattle Company. He previously served as president of CFB Foods Incorporated from 2001 to 2003 and president of Comer and Polston Insurance Incorporated from 1993 to 1995.

BlackRock Company Profile

BlackRock, Inc is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to institutional, intermediary, and individual investors including corporate, public, union, and industry pension plans, insurance companies, third-party mutual funds, endowments, public institutions, governments, foundations, charities, sovereign wealth funds, corporations, official institutions, and banks.