BlackRock $BLK Position Cut by Cantillon Capital Management LLC

Cantillon Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 1.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 510,402 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 5,625 shares during the quarter. BlackRock comprises 3.3% of Cantillon Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Cantillon Capital Management LLC owned about 0.33% of BlackRock worth $595,062,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Welch Group LLC increased its position in BlackRock by 1.2% during the second quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 760 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $797,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 340 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the period. CNB Bank grew its holdings in BlackRock by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 103 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd raised its position in BlackRock by 14.3% in the 2nd quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 72 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the period. Finally, FAS Wealth Partners Inc. lifted its stake in BlackRock by 1.1% in the second quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 817 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $857,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Larry Fink warned at Davos that AI could widen inequality but used the platform to push for shared benefits and tokenization — reinforcing BlackRock’s role as a market leader and steward of large institutional flows. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink: ‘What Happens to Everyone Else’ If AI Fuels Inequality?
• Positive Sentiment: Fink told reporters he doesn’t see an AI bubble, signaling confidence in continued, sustainable AI investment — a bullish signal for BlackRock’s AI‑oriented strategies and tech exposure. BlackRock’s Fink Not Worried About a Bubble Forming in AI
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock continues to push tokenization and blockchain as market plumbing (BUIDL money‑market tokenization cited with >$2B locked) — accelerates a potential new AUM/fees channel if adoption broadens. World Economic Forum: BlackRock’s CEO Calls for Tokenization and Blockchain Adoption
• Positive Sentiment: On‑chain activity tied to BlackRock moved ~ $430M of BTC/ETH to Coinbase Prime — indicative of institutional custody/capital flows that support BlackRock’s crypto product ecosystem. BlackRock-linked wallets move over $430 million in bitcoin, ether to Coinbase Prime
• Positive Sentiment: Rick Rieder’s name gaining traction as a potential Fed chair candidate raised market attention to BlackRock’s policy influence — could be seen as a governance/relationship positive for the firm. Rieder odds rising for Fed chair after Trump calls BlackRock executive ‘very impressive’
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock adjusted disclosed stakes in several public companies (e.g., BAWAG) — shows active portfolio positioning but not an immediate AUM/earnings driver. BlackRock Adjusts Stake in BAWAG Group to 5.83% of Voting Rights
• Neutral Sentiment: Vice Chairman Philipp Hildebrand’s Davos remarks on geopolitics and AI are informative for strategy/positioning but are not an immediate financial catalyst. Davos: BlackRock’s Hildebrand on Geopolitics, Europe’s Role, AI
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. Bitcoin ETFs saw net outflows on the day (including BlackRock’s IBIT) — a near‑term headwind to crypto‑AUM and fee revenue. Bitcoin ETFs Log Off $488.38M as GBTC by Grayscale Takes the Lead
• Negative Sentiment: CFO Martin Small disclosed a sale of 27,047 shares (~$31.7M) — insider selling can trigger short‑term concern among some investors even if routine. SEC Form 4 — Martin Small sale

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, CFO Martin Small sold 27,047 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $12,363,724.98. This trade represents a 71.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BLK stock opened at $1,139.45 on Friday. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $773.74 and a 1-year high of $1,219.94. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $1,076.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,106.51. The company has a market capitalization of $176.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.17, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.47. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $13.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.55 by $0.61. BlackRock had a net margin of 22.93% and a return on equity of 15.14%. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $11.93 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.21. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on BLK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,244.00 to $1,267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,296.00 to $1,380.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,310.00 to $1,340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,351.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of BlackRock from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 17th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,314.71.

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.