BlackRock $BLK Shares Sold by Great Lakes Advisors LLC

Great Lakes Advisors LLC trimmed its position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 1.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 157,709 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 2,287 shares during the period. BlackRock comprises about 1.5% of Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $183,871,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BLK. Westerkirk Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,877,000. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 7.9% during the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 23,167 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $24,308,000 after purchasing an additional 1,693 shares during the last quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the third quarter worth $6,201,000. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 8.2% in the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 256,937 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $269,591,000 after purchasing an additional 19,404 shares during the period. Finally, Liberty One Investment Management LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 29.3% in the third quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 6,748 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $7,867,000 after purchasing an additional 1,529 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $1,313.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Argus increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,165.00 to $1,330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,514.00 to $1,550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. UBS Group set a $1,280.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,314.71.

Key Stories Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock and MSCI extended their long-term equity index licensing pact, preserving a steady revenue stream tied to index licensing and ETF indexing that supports recurring fees. MSCI, BlackRock extend long-term equity index licensing pact
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock co-led a $257M Series D for cell?therapy automation company Cellares, showing continued private-market deal activity and growth in alternatives that can boost fee diversification and long?term AUM. Cellares Raises $257 Million Series D Led by BlackRock and Eclipse
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock added Gregg R. Lemkau to its board, strengthening governance with an experienced investor whose network and deal expertise could aid strategic oversight. BlackRock Elects Gregg Lemkau to Board of Directors
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock disclosed it boosted its stake in Archer Aviation — a sign of conviction in selected private/public growth bets; this demonstrates active portfolio deployment but has limited near-term impact on BLK’s fee base. Did BlackRock Build A New Floor for Archer’s Stock Price?
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock filed for another Bitcoin ETF, expanding its crypto product lineup; filings signal potential future revenue and market share gains in digital-asset ETF flows but depend on approvals and investor adoption. BlackRock Drops Another Bitcoin ETF, But No Sign Of An XRP ETF
• Neutral Sentiment: Speculation that BlackRock’s Rick Rieder is a frontrunner for Fed chair keeps the firm in headlines; markets interpret his fixed?income stature as a potential tailwind for rate-sensitive flows, though the development also raises governance and political scrutiny questions. The market thinks BlackRock’s Rick Rieder will be the next Fed chair
• Negative Sentiment: Critical commentary on BlackRock’s new covered?call Bitcoin ETF warns of a crowded product market and potential investor misalignment; such criticism can temper enthusiasm for fee expansion in niche ETF strategies. BlackRock’s New Covered Call Bitcoin ETF Is Another Red Flag for a Dangerous Investing Trend
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent quarterly results showed an EPS beat but revenue below some estimates; AUM and revenue growth remain strong year?over?year, supporting investor confidence in fee durability despite mixed top?line prints. BlackRock recent earnings summary

BlackRock Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE BLK opened at $1,121.17 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $173.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.65, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 3.33 and a current ratio of 3.33. BlackRock has a one year low of $773.74 and a one year high of $1,219.94. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $1,083.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,107.49.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $13.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $12.55 by $0.61. BlackRock had a net margin of 22.93% and a return on equity of 15.14%. The company had revenue of $6.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $11.93 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $5.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.21. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 58.84%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Martin Small sold 27,047 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,171.14, for a total transaction of $31,675,823.58. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,363,724.98. This trade represents a 71.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,125.00, for a total value of $22,500,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 61,894 shares in the company, valued at $69,630,750. This trade represents a 24.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 48,305 shares of company stock worth $55,488,396 over the last three months. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.