Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Buys 2,453 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 52.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,114 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,453 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $8,293,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BLK. Westerkirk Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,877,000. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 7.9% in the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 23,167 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $24,308,000 after acquiring an additional 1,693 shares during the period. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in BlackRock during the third quarter valued at approximately $6,201,000. Lingohr Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 3rd quarter valued at $700,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in BlackRock by 8.2% in the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 256,937 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $269,591,000 after buying an additional 19,404 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BlackRock stock opened at $1,093.57 on Monday. 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 capitalization of $169.67 billion, a PE ratio of 30.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $1,093.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,104.77. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $773.74 and a fifty-two week high of $1,219.94.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced 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 return on equity of 15.14% and a net margin of 22.93%.The company had revenue of $6.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $11.93 earnings per share. BlackRock’s revenue was up 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,290.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Barclays increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. CICC Research lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Freedom Capital raised shares of BlackRock from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Evercore cut their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,275.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,311.11.

BlackRock News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ValueAct (Morfit) announced a position in BlackRock and suggested the firm can become “more powerful” by leaning into technology—an activist investor endorsement that can be a catalyst for strategic change and a re-rating. ValueAct’s Morfit announces BlackRock position, says technology can make the company ‘more powerful’
• Positive Sentiment: An analyst price target was raised to $1,340, signaling bullish analyst sentiment that supports the stock’s upward momentum. BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Price Target Raised to $1,340.00
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock proposed combining two UK smaller?company trusts (Throgmorton and Smaller Companies Trust); shareholders and an activist (Saba) have reacted favorably — the deal would create the largest growth?focused trust in the UK smaller companies sector, which can boost AUM and stewardship fees. BlackRock Smaller Companies Trust jumps 4% on merger plan with Throgmorton
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory disclosures show BlackRock building stakes in other companies (WPP hitting a 10% voting threshold; a ~10.7% capital interest in Qiagen). These moves reflect portfolio positioning and potential engagement but are mixed for BLK’s stock direction. WPP Discloses BlackRock’s Voting Stake Reaching 10% on 18 February 2026 BlackRock Discloses 10.68% Capital Interest and 11.8% Voting Stake in Qiagen
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage and estimate pages refreshed this week show continued bullish long?term outlooks even as BLK has underperformed recently—important context but not an immediate driver. BlackRock Stock: Analyst Estimates & Ratings
• Negative Sentiment: Crypto flow and trading activity tied to BlackRock’s crypto ETFs are a near-term headwind: Arkham data shows BlackRock moved about $270M in BTC/ETH to Coinbase as $2.4B in crypto options expire — this looks like selling pressure that can reduce AUM and fee momentum in crypto products. BlackRock Signals $270M Bitcoin, Ethereum Sell-Off as $2.4B in Crypto Options Expire
• Negative Sentiment: Reports show BlackRock has trimmed exposure to a Bitcoin proxy strategy and IBIT/Fbtc ETF flows/absorption that helped during prior selloffs are weakening — this increases volatility risk for BlackRock’s crypto product revenue. BlackRock trims stake in Bitcoin proxy Strategy but keeps top shareholder spot Bitcoin Bottom Call On Ice: Fear Is Extreme, Whales Aren’t Buying
• Negative Sentiment: Rosen Law Firm announced an investigation into potential breaches of fiduciary duties by BlackRock directors/officers—this raises governance/legal risk that can pressure sentiment until resolved. BLK Investor News: Rosen Law Firm Announces Investigation of Breaches of Fiduciary Duties by the Directors and Officers of BlackRock, Inc. – BLK

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, CFO Martin Small sold 27,047 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen Cohen sold 2,179 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,543 shares in the company, valued at $7,026,331.41. This represents a 24.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 109,967 shares of company stock valued at $122,487,380 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Company 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.