NewEdge Wealth LLC Acquires 667 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

NewEdge Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 9.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,530 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 667 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $8,084,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. CNB Bank boosted its position in BlackRock by 9.6% during the second quarter. CNB Bank now owns 103 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 14.3% in the 2nd quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 72 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 817 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $857,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 1,794 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,092,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HM Payson & Co. lifted its position in BlackRock by 0.6% during the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 1,444 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,683,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $1,082.23 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.33, a current ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. BlackRock has a 52-week low of $773.74 and a 52-week high of $1,219.94. The stock has a market cap of $167.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.55, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.47. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $1,093.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,105.07.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $13.16 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $11.93 EPS. BlackRock’s quarterly revenue was up 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $5.73 per share. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.21. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is presently 58.84%.

Key Headlines Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ValueAct’s David Morfit disclosed a position in BlackRock and said the firm’s technology initiatives could make BlackRock “more powerful,” signaling potential activist support and strategic upside for the asset manager. ValueAct’s Morfit announces BlackRock position
• Positive Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its BLK price target to $1,340 and kept an outperform rating — a sizable analyst-upside that supports the stock’s valuation expectations. Keefe Bruyette Woods adjusts price target on BlackRock
• Positive Sentiment: Reports of a Hong Kong-linked firm and other large buyers putting significant capital into BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) highlight continued institutional demand for IBIT flows and fee-generating ETF assets. That demand can support revenues tied to ETF AUM. Mystery firm pours $436M into BlackRock’s ETF
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly bullish on BLK’s medium-term growth despite recent underperformance, supporting buy-side interest and giving the stock fundamental backing. BlackRock Stock: Analyst Estimates & Ratings
• Neutral Sentiment: Jane Street and other market-maker 13F filings showed large IBIT positions, sparking manipulation rumors — but market-structure experts say those filings are consistent with dealer inventory/hedging rather than directional bets, so the impact on BLK is uncertain. Is Jane Street manipulating Bitcoin? The viral theory explained
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock trimmed a stake in a bitcoin-proxy strategy but remains the top shareholder — a modest repositioning that keeps it central to crypto ETF market dynamics without changing the company’s ETF leadership role. BlackRock trims stake in Bitcoin proxy Strategy
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory filings show new disclosed stakes in Qiagen and a sub?5% indirect holding in Stora Enso — portfolio moves that matter for disclosure but are unlikely to shift BLK’s core business metrics materially. BlackRock Discloses stake in Qiagen
• Negative Sentiment: Rosen Law Firm announced an investigation into potential breaches of fiduciary duty by BlackRock directors/officers — litigation or governance scrutiny can create headline risk and investor unease. Rosen Law Firm investigation of BlackRock
• Negative Sentiment: Bitcoin ETFs recorded net outflows and a sharp slowdown in trading volume this week; weaker IBIT flows and crypto volatility can pressure fee growth tied to those ETFs. Bitcoin ETFs log $105M outflows as mystery IBIT buyer surfaces
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage noting that BLK “slid on investors’ concerns” points to short-term profit-taking and sentiment-driven volatility following the mix of news above. BlackRock (BLK) Slid on Investors’ Concerns

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, CFO Martin Small sold 27,047 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,171.14, for a total value of $31,675,823.58. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 10,557 shares in the company, valued at $12,363,724.98. This represents a 71.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen Cohen sold 2,179 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,073.87, for a total value of $2,339,962.73. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,026,331.41. This represents a 24.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 109,967 shares of company stock valued at $122,487,380 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on BLK. Freedom Capital raised shares of BlackRock from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on BlackRock from $1,310.00 to $1,340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on BlackRock from $1,290.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BlackRock from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. One 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,311.11.

BlackRock Profile

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.