BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on BLK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on BlackRock from $1,296.00 to $1,380.00 in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,456.00 to $1,464.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $1,351.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,244.00 to $1,267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,486.00 to $1,514.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,314.71.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $1,164.72 on Friday. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $773.74 and a 1 year high of $1,219.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 3.33 and a current ratio of 3.33. The company has a market cap of $180.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.47. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $1,073.47 and a 200-day moving average of $1,105.89.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $13.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.55 by $0.61. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.14% and a net margin of 22.93%.The company had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $11.93 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $5.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.21. BlackRock’s payout ratio is 58.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, CFO Martin Small sold 1,258 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,043.38, for a total value of $1,312,572.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 6,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,478,346.42. This represents a 16.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its holdings in BlackRock by 450.0% during the third quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 22 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 22 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Traub Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its stake in BlackRock by 107.1% in the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 29 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in BlackRock by 866.7% during the third quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 29 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rick Rieder, BlackRock’s CIO of Global Fixed Income, is reported to be among final contenders for the Federal Reserve chair — a nomination would raise BlackRock’s profile and could be viewed as a vote of confidence in the firm’s macro expertise, supporting sentiment for BLK. BlackRock’s Rick Rieder bid for Fed chair is gaining traction
• Positive Sentiment: An analyst price target was raised to $1,550, signaling stronger forward expectations for earnings/AUM growth and providing upward support for the stock. BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Price Target Raised to $1,550.00
• Positive Sentiment: Large weekly inflows into US spot Bitcoin ETFs benefited BlackRock’s IBIT, which led flows — a renewed pipeline into crypto ETFs boosts AUM and fee revenue potential. What’s Driving The $1.42 Billion Comeback In Spot Bitcoin ETFs?
• Positive Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods published a bullish outlook calling for strong price appreciation in BLK, reinforcing investor conviction and potentially attracting new longs. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock reported record AUM amid strategic shifts but is also executing job cuts — record assets support fee revenue while restructuring could reduce costs but may signal short-term disruption. BlackRock sets record amid strategic shifts, job cuts
• Neutral Sentiment: Media pieces on Larry Fink’s efforts at Davos and BlackRock strategists’ market commentary highlight the firm’s influence — positive for brand but unlikely to move fundamentals immediately. Inside Larry Fink’s bid to revive scandal-hit Davos
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock strategists are advising how to position through volatility and potential Fed rate cuts — useful tactical guidance but not an immediate earnings driver. Earnings set to ‘broaden’ in 2026 amid volatility, says BlackRock’s Gargi Chaudhuri
• Negative Sentiment: Rieder’s Fed candidacy also raises potential governance and conflicts-of-interest scrutiny for BlackRock (and transition risk if he were to depart), which could pressure sentiment for some investors. BlackRock’s Rick Rieder reportedly among final contenders for Fed chair role

About BlackRock

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.