Erste Asset Management GmbH Decreases Position in BlackRock $BLK

Erste Asset Management GmbH trimmed its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,034 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 4,332 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $37,647,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Westerkirk Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the second quarter valued at about $2,877,000. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 7.9% in 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 last quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,201,000. Lingohr Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $700,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 256,937 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $269,591,000 after buying an additional 19,404 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,456.00 to $1,464.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. UBS Group upgraded shares of BlackRock from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $1,280.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,514.00 to $1,550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Evercore reduced their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,275.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, CICC Research raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,311.11.

BlackRock News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Large operational partnership — BlackRock tapped Citi to provide middle‑office services for roughly $4.0T of U.S. iShares ETFs on Aladdin, which should improve ETF processing, distribution efficiency and could support future inflows. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Crypto ETF momentum — US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a large daily inflow (~$258M) with BlackRock among leaders; sustained flows into IBIT/crypto ETFs would lift fee revenue and reinforce BlackRock’s ETF franchise. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic investments — BlackRock is active in DeFi and AI ecosystems (stake activity with DeFi infrastructure deals and participation in AI chip funding), underscoring diversification into growth themes beyond core asset management. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate actions and holdings updates — BlackRock marginally reduced its stake in BAWAG Group; smaller‑company trusts announced a merger to cut costs and boost scale (operative for subsidiaries/closed‑end trusts, not BLK’s core P&L). Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary — Analysts dispute claims that a single trading firm (Jane Street) systematically moves Bitcoin via IBIT-related flows; markets view BTC moves as broader risk repricing rather than firm manipulation. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability and cash‑flow pressure — Q4 showed revenue growth (~23%) but sharp declines in operating profit, net income and EPS and weaker operating cash flow, increasing near‑term margin concerns. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Operational/reputational risk — Reporting that BlackRock was duped into a $430M telecom loan involving alleged fake invoices raises questions about credit underwriting and controls. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — Multiple senior BlackRock executives and directors (recent Form 4 filings) have sold shares in the past days/weeks; continued insider sales can pressure sentiment even if motivated by routine liquidity. Read More. • Read More.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,125.00, for a total value of $22,500,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 61,894 shares in the company, valued at $69,630,750. The trade was a 24.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Martin Small sold 27,047 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The shares were 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 represents a 71.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 112,577 shares of company stock worth $125,311,821 in the last 90 days. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $1,089.89 on Friday. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $773.74 and a fifty-two week high of $1,219.94. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,094.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,104.00. The stock has a market cap of $169.10 billion, a PE ratio of 30.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.47. 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 (NYSE:BLK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $13.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $12.55 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.80 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 22.93% and a return on equity of 15.14%. The business’s revenue was up 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $11.93 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $5.73 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 58.84%.

BlackRock Company 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.