Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Has $5.79 Million Holdings in BlackRock $BLK

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lessened its position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 13.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,410 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 863 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $5,791,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Pacifica Partners Inc. raised its stake in BlackRock by 450.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 22 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 1,000.0% in the third quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 22 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 866.7% during the third quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 29 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Collier Financial acquired a new position in BlackRock during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK stock opened at $967.39 on Friday. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $773.74 and a fifty-two week high of $1,219.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $1,032.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,077.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The firm has a market cap of $150.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.31, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.48.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.80 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.78% and a net margin of 22.93%.The firm’s revenue was up 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $11.93 EPS. Analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a $5.73 dividend. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.21. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is presently 64.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on BLK. Barclays raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. CICC Research upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of BlackRock from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,290.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Evercore dropped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,235.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,298.78.

Key Stories Impacting BlackRock

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 at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 385 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,084.91, for a total value of $417,690.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,618,174.85. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Stephen Cohen sold 225 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,069.56, for a total transaction of $240,651.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,661 shares in the company, valued at $6,054,779.16. The trade was a 3.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 111,319 shares of company stock valued at $123,999,249. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.