BlackRock $BLK Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP cut its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 46.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 292,243 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 251,156 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.19% of BlackRock worth $340,717,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Westerkirk Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the second quarter worth $2,877,000. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 7.9% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth about $6,201,000. Lingohr Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in BlackRock in the third quarter worth approximately $700,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 19,404 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Stock Down 7.9%

NYSE BLK opened at $953.67 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,089.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,099.40. BlackRock has a one year low of $773.74 and a one year high of $1,219.94. The firm has a market cap of $148.33 billion, a PE ratio of 26.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $6.80 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.78% and a net margin of 22.93%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $11.93 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $5.73 dividend. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.21. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.84%.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, Director Stephen Cohen sold 2,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,073.87, for a total value of $2,339,962.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,543 shares in the company, valued at $7,026,331.41. The trade was a 24.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,125.00, for a total value of $22,500,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,630,750. This represents a 24.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 111,319 shares of company stock worth $123,999,249 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BLK shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered BlackRock from a “moderate buy” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $1,313.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. UBS Group raised BlackRock from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $1,280.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,456.00 to $1,464.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,308.89.

Key Headlines Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock is expanding its iShares iBonds ETF franchise — nine new defined‑maturity bond ETFs across Treasuries, TIPS, corporates, high yield and muni markets — which supports fee growth and ETF distribution strength. BlackRock Announces Plans to Expand iBonds ETF Franchise
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock launched the iShares Broad USD Floating Rate Loan ETF (USLN), opening index‑based access to the $1.4T leveraged‑loan market — a distribution/growth opportunity for its ETF business. BlackRock Launches USLN ETF
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional adoption of BlackRock’s Aladdin Wealth continues: Intesa Sanpaolo will extend use of Aladdin Wealth for its international banks unit, supporting recurring technology revenue. Intesa Sanpaolo to adopt BlackRock’s Aladdin Wealth
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory disclosure: BlackRock disclosed its stake in Finland’s Orion Corp lifted above 5%, a routine holdings disclosure with little immediate impact on BLK’s fundamentals. Orion Corporation disclosure
• Negative Sentiment: Market shock: BlackRock capped withdrawals from a $26B private‑credit vehicle after redemption requests exceeded the periodic limit, prompting a broad selloff in BLK and peers as investors reassess liquidity risk in private credit. Forbes: BlackRock Shares Tumble After Limits
• Negative Sentiment: Credit stress: Reporting says BlackRock took a $25M loan write‑off and faced roughly $1.2B in redemption requests tied to private credit, underscoring valuation and liquidity risks in opaque private loan portfolios. Blockonomi: Loan Write-Off & Redemptions
• Negative Sentiment: Contagion risk: The move put alternative asset managers (Blackstone, Apollo, KKR, Ares, Blue Owl) under scrutiny as investors test redemption mechanics across private‑credit and alternative strategies. Benzinga: Peers Under Watch
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst reaction: Evercore trimmed its price target modestly, reflecting near‑term caution after the private‑credit developments. Analyst downgrades/target cuts could add selling pressure if more follow. MarketScreener: Evercore Adjusts Price Target

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.