Aberdeen Group plc Has $121.61 Million Stake in BlackRock $BLK

Aberdeen Group plc lowered its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 113,621 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,925 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $121,613,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BLK. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. grew its stake in BlackRock by 1.1% during 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 period. First Financial Bank Trust Division lifted its stake in BlackRock by 0.5% in the third quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 1,794 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,092,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co. lifted its stake in BlackRock by 0.6% in the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 1,444 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,683,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the period. PUREfi Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. PUREfi Wealth LLC now owns 460 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $536,000 after buying an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Shum Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Shum Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,183 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,336,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK stock opened at $967.39 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,032.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,077.65. BlackRock has a 12 month low of $773.74 and a 12 month high of $1,219.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.47 billion, a PE ratio of 27.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.48.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.55 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.80 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 22.93% and a return on equity of 14.78%. The business’s revenue was up 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $11.93 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $5.73 per share. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.21. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore lowered their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,235.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,456.00 to $1,464.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. CICC Research lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,296.00 to $1,380.00 in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $1,313.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,298.78.

Key BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock filed for a new iShares Bitcoin Premium Income ETF (ticker $BITA), a covered‑call/spot Bitcoin product that could expand fee revenue and ETF market share in crypto. BlackRock Files $BITA for Bitcoin Income ETF Strategy
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley kept an Overweight rating on BLK despite lowering its price target, signaling continued analyst conviction that shares have upside versus peers. Morgan Stanley Lowers BLK Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Recent market coverage noted BLK has been outperforming the broader market in the latest sessions, reflecting investor interest in asset managers amid market volatility. BlackRock Outperforms Broader Market
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock trimmed but still holds a sizable 7.77% stake in Siemens Energy—routine portfolio housekeeping that has limited immediate impact on BLK’s core business metrics. BlackRock Trims Stake in Siemens Energy
• Neutral Sentiment: Stora Enso disclosed a sub‑5% BlackRock ownership chain update — a regulatory/ownership filing with limited near‑term market implications for BLK. Stora Enso Details Sub‑5% BlackRock Ownership Chain
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock research and portfolio teams have adjusted stances (e.g., neutral on US stocks, and bearish positioning on German bonds), signaling active risk management rather than immediate revenue impact. BlackRock Cuts US Stocks to Neutral
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP announced an investigation into BlackRock investors’ claims, raising litigation risk and potential reputational/legal costs. Pomerantz Investigates BlackRock
• Negative Sentiment: Questions about possible insider access after a broker tied to the Defense Department made large trades in a BlackRock defense ETF have prompted compliance reviews and congressional attention—raising governance risk. Insider Access Questions Around ETF Trade
• Negative Sentiment: Liquidity stress in private credit (highlighted by massive redemption requests at Blue Owl and rising congressional scrutiny of private‑credit practices) increases regulatory and market risk for large asset managers exposed to private markets like BlackRock. Blue Owl Limits Redemptions
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market headwinds—financials sliding pre‑market and geopolitical escalation raising oil and volatility—are pressuring the sector and could weigh on BLK’s AUM growth and trading volumes. Sector Financial Stocks Fall Pre‑Bell

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Martin Small sold 27,047 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,171.14, for a total value of $31,675,823.58. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,557 shares in the company, valued at $12,363,724.98. This trade represents a 71.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen Cohen sold 2,179 shares of BlackRock 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 transaction, the director directly owned 6,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,026,331.41. The trade was a 24.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 111,319 shares of company stock worth $123,999,249 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

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.