BlackRock $BLK Stake Reduced by Conning Inc.

Conning Inc. cut its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 30,439 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 4,639 shares during the period. BlackRock accounts for 1.2% of Conning Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Conning Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $35,488,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Westerkirk Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,877,000. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 7.9% during the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 23,167 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $24,308,000 after purchasing an additional 1,693 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 8.2% during the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 256,937 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $269,591,000 after purchasing an additional 19,404 shares during the last quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in BlackRock in the 3rd quarter worth about $6,201,000. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its holdings in BlackRock by 12.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 20,020 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $21,006,000 after buying an additional 2,176 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 6,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,478,346.42. This trade represents a 16.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Rachel Lord sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,165.04, for a total transaction of $13,980,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,394,113.20. This represents a 62.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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: Strong Bitcoin ETF inflows boost BlackRock’s ETF business — U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw a record day of inflows; BlackRock’s IBIT took in about $126M, highlighting renewed institutional demand for crypto ETFs that can lift fee revenue and AUM growth. BTC Breaks Higher
• Positive Sentiment: Chairman Larry Fink named interim co‑chair of WEF — Fink’s elevated public role at Davos can strengthen BlackRock’s profile with global institutional clients and policy makers. Davos/WEF Coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 earnings and previews are front‑and‑center — Analysts and previews ahead of BlackRock’s Jan. 15 print are creating positioning trades; results could swing the stock depending on EPS, revenue mix (active vs. index, ETF flows) and margin commentary. Earnings Preview
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock moved ~$339M in Bitcoin ahead of potential market volatility — operational moves in crypto holdings can affect short-term AUM and headline risk but aren’t necessarily directional for long-term revenue. BlackRock Moves Bitcoin
• Neutral Sentiment: Strategic positioning: BlackRock signals AI-related sector tilts toward energy/infrastructure — could reshape portfolio exposures and product launches but is a longer-term thematic story. AI Focus Shift
• Negative Sentiment: Job cuts announced (~1% of staff / ~250 roles) raise near-term concerns — layoffs signal cost discipline but also a re‑shaping of growth priorities; such news often pressures sentiment despite potential margin benefits. Layoffs Report
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst moves: TD Cowen reaffirms ‘hold’ and trims price target — the cut in target from $1,407 to $1,209 reduces upside expectations and can cap near-term multiple expansion. TD Cowen Rating

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on BLK shares. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,305.00 to $1,298.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on BlackRock from $1,322.00 to $1,310.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,303.71.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE BLK opened at $1,092.36 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $773.74 and a 1-year high of $1,219.94. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,068.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,103.49. The company has a market capitalization of $169.48 billion, a PE ratio of 28.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.47.

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

BlackRock Announces Dividend

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