National Bank of Canada FI Sells 12,732 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

National Bank of Canada FI trimmed its holdings in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 165,791 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 12,732 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned 0.11% of BlackRock worth $193,276,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. raised its stake in BlackRock by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 817 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $857,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division grew its position in BlackRock by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 1,794 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,092,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. grew its position in BlackRock by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 1,444 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,683,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. PUREfi Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. PUREfi Wealth LLC now owns 460 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $536,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.1% during the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. now owns 938 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $984,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 385 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,084.91, for a total value of $417,690.35. Following the sale, the director owned 3,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,618,174.85. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Martin Small sold 27,047 shares of the 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 owned 10,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,363,724.98. This trade represents a 71.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 111,319 shares of company stock worth $123,999,249 over the last 90 days. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

BlackRock News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock launched a new Ethereum ETF (iShares Staked Ethereum Trust, ETHB) that offers staking rewards, a product move likely to attract crypto?interested AUM and fee revenue. BlackRock launches new ethereum ETF packed with staking rewards
• Positive Sentiment: Cryptos (Bitcoin and Ether) are rising and ETF inflows into crypto products are increasing — a tailwind for BlackRock’s digital assets business and its new crypto ETFs. Bitcoin touches a six-week high as investors pour into ETFs
• Positive Sentiment: Reporting shows BlackRock among the largest public holders of Bitcoin alongside Coinbase and others, reinforcing its role in crypto custody/ETF flows. That positioning supports revenue growth in digital asset products. Strategy Now Among Top 4 Bitcoin Holders, Alongside Satoshi, CoinBase and BlackRock
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock increased its stake in Rentokil Initial above 12% (disclosed), showing active portfolio moves and signaling the firm’s large-scale equity allocations. Rentokil Initial Discloses Increase in BlackRock Stake Above 12%
• Neutral Sentiment: Headline coverage notes BLK outpaced the broader market today — a descriptive take that reflects the intraday move rather than new company fundamentals. Why BlackRock (BLK) Outpaced the Stock Market Today
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock warns in research that Treasuries and government bonds face further selling amid inflation pressures (AI chip demand, oil, military spending) — a market view that may influence client positioning but is not an immediate company credit issue. Treasuries and Other Government Bonds Will Keep Selling Off, BlackRock Says. These Risks Are Lurking.
• Negative Sentiment: Private?credit stress: multiple reports flag investor redemptions and a potential exit wave from private credit funds (spillover from Blue Owl) — a clear risk for BlackRock’s private credit exposure and related fee/AUM stability. The private credit collapse spreads from Blue Owl to BlackRock Wall Street Lunch: Private Credit Funds Face $10B Investor Exit Wave

BlackRock Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of BLK opened at $943.30 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $146.72 billion, a PE ratio of 26.63, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.48. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $773.74 and a 1 year high of $1,219.94. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,072.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,090.91.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $13.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $12.55 by $0.61. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.78% and a net margin of 22.93%.The business had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $11.93 EPS. BlackRock’s quarterly revenue was up 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $5.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. 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 dividend yield of 2.4%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on BLK shares. Evercore reduced their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,235.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on BlackRock from $1,244.00 to $1,267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Freedom Capital upgraded BlackRock from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered BlackRock from a “moderate buy” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,308.89.

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.