GW&K Investment Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in BlackRock $BLK

GW&K Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 39,745 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 579 shares during the quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $46,338,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Westerkirk Capital Inc. bought a new stake in BlackRock during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,877,000. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 7.9% in the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 1,693 shares during the period. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $6,201,000. Lingohr Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the third quarter valued at approximately $700,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 19,404 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BlackRock from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,296.00 to $1,380.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Evercore decreased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $1,313.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised BlackRock from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,311.11.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BLK opened at $1,049.46 on Thursday. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $773.74 and a 12-month high of $1,219.94. The company’s 50 day moving average is $1,093.04 and its 200 day moving average is $1,101.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market cap of $162.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.63, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.48.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $13.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $12.55 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.80 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.78% and a net margin of 22.93%.BlackRock’s revenue was up 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $11.93 EPS. On average, equities research 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 an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.21. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.84%.

Key Stories Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock-led consortium to buy AES for $33.4B — BLK’s Global Infrastructure Partners is co-leading a large take-private of AES, a move that highlights BlackRock’s scale in fee-generating infrastructure deals and could support future fundraising and performance fees. BlackRock, EQT-led group to buy AES in $33.4-billion deal
• Positive Sentiment: New ETF expands product set — BlackRock launched the iShares Broad USD Floating Rate Loan ETF (USLN), giving index-based access to the $1.4T U.S. leveraged loan market; new ETF launches can drive incremental AUM and fees if they attract flows. BlackRock Expands Access to U.S. Leveraged Loan Market with Index ETF
• Positive Sentiment: Spot Bitcoin ETF inflows into IBIT — BlackRock’s IBIT posted meaningful daily inflows that helped offset outflows elsewhere in the Bitcoin ETF complex, underscoring investor demand for BlackRock’s crypto product and supporting ETF fee growth. US spot Bitcoin ETFs add $225M as BlackRock’s IBIT offsets redemptions
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock disclosed a >10%/11.56% stake in Qiagen — a sizable active holding that suggests opportunistic portfolio positioning but has limited direct impact on BLK’s earnings; watchers should note activist-style stakes can be resourced-intensive. BlackRock Lifts Stake in Qiagen to Over 10% of Capital
• Neutral Sentiment: Target-date funds are shifting to higher risk in mid-career — BlackRock says boosting equity risk between ages 45–60 could raise retirement outcomes; long-term product changes can influence flows over time but are not an immediate earnings driver. BlackRock’s target-date funds are about to get riskier. Here’s what you need to know.
• Neutral Sentiment: Portfolio reshuffle in energy/infrastructure — reports note BlackRock’s GIP led the AES bid while exiting Naturgy positions, signaling active repositioning that could improve returns but also implies transaction-related costs and capital redeployment. BlackRock Reshapes Power Exposure With AES Buyout And Naturgy Exit
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods — KBW cut BLK from “moderate buy” to “moderate sell,” which can pressure sentiment and trigger short-term selling by institutional investors. Zacks — KBW Downgrade Note
• Negative Sentiment: Sector and macro weakness — financial stocks retreated and rising Treasury yields/Geopolitical risk (Iran tensions) are weighing on asset managers broadly by pressuring markets and potential AUM growth. Market-driven flow risk is a key short-term headwind for BLK. Sector Update: Financial Stocks Retreat Late Afternoon

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, Director Stephen Cohen sold 225 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,069.56, for a total transaction of $240,651.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,054,779.16. This trade represents a 3.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 385 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,084.91, for a total value of $417,690.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,335 shares in the company, valued at $3,618,174.85. This trade represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 111,319 shares of company stock valued at $123,999,249. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

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.