Benjamin Edwards Inc. Buys 712 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 13.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,933 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 712 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $6,922,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Welch Group LLC grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 760 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $797,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. boosted its stake in BlackRock by 2.7% in the second quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 340 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. CNB Bank grew its holdings in BlackRock by 9.6% in the second quarter. CNB Bank now owns 103 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 14.3% during the second quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 72 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FAS Wealth Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen boosted their target price on BlackRock from $1,301.00 to $1,407.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded BlackRock from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,486.00 to $1,514.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,180.00 target price on the stock. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, BlackRock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,313.12.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, CFO Martin Small sold 1,258 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,043.38, for a total value of $1,312,572.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 6,209 shares in the company, valued at $6,478,346.42. The trade was a 16.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Rachel Lord sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,165.04, for a total transaction of $13,980,480.00. Following the sale, the director owned 7,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,394,113.20. This represents a 62.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock and others see a big potential expansion in retail access to crypto, which supports future ETF/net‑new‑asset upside if Main Street demand grows. BlackRock predicts major shift in retail investors’ access to cryptocurrencies
• Positive Sentiment: Tokenization adoption: Jupiter launched JupUSD with reserves tied to BlackRock’s tokenized BUIDL fund — a sign BlackRock-backed institutional assets are being used in on‑chain products, which could broaden distribution and fees long term. Jupiter Exchange Launches JupUSD Stablecoin with BlackRock-Backed Reserves
• Positive Sentiment: Company clarification: BlackRock publicly reiterated it does not buy single‑family homes after a Trump proposal sparked market confusion — the clarification reduces an ongoing reputational/regulatory overhang for the firm. EXCLUSIVE: BlackRock Says It Does Not Buy Single-Family Homes After Trump Proposal
• Neutral Sentiment: Governance/leadership attention: BlackRock’s Rick Rieder was asked about being on a short list for Fed Chair — raises headlines but uncertain impact on firm fundamentals; investors may watch for potential conflicts or time distractions if the story develops. BlackRock’s Rieder Reacts to Being Considered for Fed Chair
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock crypto leadership: senior ETF executives said it’s still “very early days” for Bitcoin/Ethereum adoption — tempered optimism that supports a measured, long‑run view on crypto AUM. BlackRock ETF Chief Says ‘Still Very Early Days’ For Bitcoin, Ethereum
• Neutral Sentiment: Minor ownership update: BlackRock reduced its stake in Finland’s Orion below the 5% disclosure threshold — routine portfolio move, limited impact on BLK fundamentals. Orion Corporation: Disclosure Under Chapter 9 Section 10 of the Securities Market Act (BlackRock, Inc.)
• Negative Sentiment: Large crypto flows/signals: multiple outlets reported BlackRock moved sizable BTC/ETH to Coinbase Prime (and some headlines framed it as “dumping” ~$276M BTC and ~$83M ETH), which can spook investors about crypto exposure and short‑term ETF flows. BlackRock sends $276M in Bitcoin and $83M in Ethereum to Coinbase Prime
• Negative Sentiment: Policy/politics ripple: Trump’s housing proposal triggered market confusion and a selloff in some real‑estate/asset‑manager stocks (and headlines conflating BlackRock/Blackstone amplified volatility), pressuring sentiment toward BLK. Trump Targets Wall Street Homebuyers: Why BlackRock, Blackstone Are Feeling The Heat
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst tweak: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods trimmed BLK’s price target slightly (still an outperform rating) — a modest headwind for sentiment. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowers price target on BlackRock

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE BLK opened at $1,085.06 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $168.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.90, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.47. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,067.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,101.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 3.33 and a current ratio of 3.33. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $773.74 and a fifty-two week high of $1,219.94.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its 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). The company had revenue of $6.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.22 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.80% and a net margin of 26.64%.The firm’s revenue was up 25.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $11.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 (DPR) is presently 53.59%.

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.