3. BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)
Markel Gayner Asset Management’s Stake Value: $184,673,000
Percentage of Markel Gayner Asset Management’s 13F Portfolio: 2.33%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 47
Another top finance stock according to Markel Gayner Asset Management is BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK), which is an American multinational investment management corporation, with clients in over 100 countries. BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) is the largest asset manager on a global level. Markel Gayner Asset Management owns stakes valued at $184.67 million in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) as of June this year, which accounts for 2.33% of the firm’s investment portfolio.
BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) on October 13 posted Q3 results. The EPS for the quarter came in at $10.95, beating estimated EPS by $1.44. BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)’s Q3 revenue was $5.05 billion, surpassing estimates by $230.32 million.
BofA analyst Craig Siegenthaler, on November 3, reinstated coverage of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) with a Buy rating and a $1,080 price target. He believes that BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) will continue to outperform since it enjoys a leading market share and an early mover advantage in the financial services industry.
Out of the 873 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, 47 funds were bullish on BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) at the end of June this year, up from 42 in the preceding quarter.
Here is what Baron FinTech Fund has to say about BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) in its Q1 2021 investor letter:
“During the quarter, we initiated a position in BlackRock Inc., the world’s largest investment manager with $9 trillion in assets under management. BlackRock offers an array of products across equities, fixed income, alternatives, and cash management to institutional and retail investors worldwide. About one-quarter of BlackRock’s assets under management is actively managed, and the rest is in passive index funds and iShares-branded ETFs. The company offers technology services including the investment and risk management platform, Aladdin, as well as other advisory services and solutions. Over the five years ending December 31, 2020, assets under management and earnings per share grew at compound annual growth rates of 13% and 12%, respectively.
We believe BlackRock is well positioned for continued growth given its diverse product offering, global distribution, brand recognition, and capable management team. With most of its assets in index funds and ETFs, BlackRock is a prime beneficiary of the ongoing shift to passive investing. The company also benefits from increasing demand for sustainable investment strategies and “barbell” strategies that use a combination of low-cost index funds, active and illiquid alternatives products. BlackRock fits squarely within our Tech-Enabled Financials theme given its longstanding commitment to innovation and proprietary technology platform, Aladdin, which serves as the investment and risk management system for both BlackRock and a growing number of institutional investors around the world. We expect BlackRock’s earnings per share will continue to grow at a double digit annual rate over a market cycle through a combination of mid-single-digit growth in assets under management from net inflows, market appreciation, low to mid-teens revenue growth in technology services, modest margin expansion, and share repurchases.”
