BlackRock $BLK Shares Acquired by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 139,072 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,465 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $162,140,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BLK. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,991,264 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $14,680,334,000 after purchasing an additional 227,192 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,143,429 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,281,641,000 after purchasing an additional 34,049 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the second quarter worth $2,644,007,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in BlackRock by 72.5% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,005,358 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,104,122,000 after buying an additional 842,901 shares during the period. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in BlackRock by 105,267.4% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,705,899 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,789,915,000 after buying an additional 1,704,280 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BLK. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,390.00 to $1,322.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered BlackRock from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. Loop Capital set a $1,255.00 price target on BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,160.00 to $1,265.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,316.18.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $1,112.50 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $172.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.61, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.47. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,067.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,101.22. BlackRock has a 12 month low of $773.74 and a 12 month high of $1,219.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 3.33 and a quick ratio of 3.33.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The asset manager reported $11.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.78 by ($0.23). BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.80% and a net margin of 26.64%.The firm had revenue of $6.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $11.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were given a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is 53.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, CFO Martin Small sold 1,258 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,043.38, for a total transaction of $1,312,572.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 6,209 shares in the company, valued at $6,478,346.42. This trade represents a 16.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Rachel Lord sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,165.04, for a total value of $13,980,480.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 7,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,394,113.20. This trade represents a 62.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

BlackRock News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Massive one‑day inflows into bitcoin ETFs led by BlackRock’s IBIT (largest single ETF inflow), boosting fee-earning AUM and reinforcing BlackRock’s leadership in crypto ETFs. Bitcoin ETFs Pull $697M in One Day as BlackRock’s IBIT Leads Massive Market Inflows
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst optimism that BLK is positioned to beat upcoming earnings again (strong surprise history, favorable revenue/fee mix) supports upside expectations for EPS and multiple expansion. Why BlackRock (BLK) is Poised to Beat Earnings Estimates Again
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock raised its stake in OMV above a 4% voting threshold, showing active portfolio/strategic moves that can signal growth opportunities or activist-style influence. BlackRock Increases Stake in OMV Above 4% Voting Rights Threshold
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock’s 2026 outlook emphasizes AI-driven opportunities but calls for selectivity — constructive for fund flows into thematic ETFs but implies stock/strategy dispersion. BlackRock’s 2026 outlook: AI fuels growth, but selectivity takes center stage
• Neutral Sentiment: Rick Rieder (CIO, Global Fixed Income) warns 2026 is a market for investors not gamblers — stewardship comments that may encourage longer-term allocations but reduce short-term risk-on trading. ‘2026 Is a Market for Investors, Not Gamblers,’ Says BlackRock’s Rick Rieder
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock fund commentaries (e.g., International Fund Q3) and ETF-strategy interviews (Jay Jacobs) reiterate product-level growth but are informational rather than immediate stock catalysts. BlackRock International Fund Q3 2025 Commentary
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock commentary on commodity opportunities (e.g., copper) highlights new thematic areas for clients, possibly supporting ETF/institutional flows over time. BlackRock Sees Prospect of ‘Very Exciting’ Copper Market
• Negative Sentiment: Speculative crypto token stories linking BlackRock to obscure tokens (e.g., Ozak AI token hype) create noise and reputational/volatility risk without substantiated corporate action — could distract/increase headline volatility. What Happens If BlackRock Quietly Enters Ozak AI? Analysts Say a Single Institutional Move Could Push This $0.014 Token to $5 by 2026
• Negative Sentiment: Background: last reported quarter saw a small EPS miss even as revenue grew strongly — that mixed print can keep some investors cautious ahead of the next report. BlackRock trading & recent results summary

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.