BlackRock $BLK is Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s 9th Largest Position

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC reduced its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,306 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 836 shares during the period. BlackRock makes up approximately 1.8% of Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $9,684,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its position in BlackRock by 450.0% during the third quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 22 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 1,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 22 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 200.0% during the 2nd quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 27 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Traub Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 107.1% in the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 29 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BLK. Loop Capital set a $1,255.00 price objective on BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of BlackRock from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $1,313.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,313.12.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, CFO Martin Small sold 1,258 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,043.38, for a total transaction of $1,312,572.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 6,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,478,346.42. This represents a 16.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Rachel Lord sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,165.04, for a total value of $13,980,480.00. Following the sale, the director owned 7,205 shares in the company, valued at $8,394,113.20. This trade represents a 62.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of BLK stock opened at $1,085.06 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $168.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.90, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a current ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $1,067.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,101.63. BlackRock has a twelve month low of $773.74 and a twelve month high of $1,219.94.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The asset manager reported $11.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.78 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $6.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.22 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.80% and a net margin of 26.64%.BlackRock’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $11.46 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is presently 53.59%.

Key Stories Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock and others see a big potential expansion in retail access to crypto, which supports future ETF/net‑new‑asset upside if Main Street demand grows. BlackRock predicts major shift in retail investors’ access to cryptocurrencies
• Positive Sentiment: Tokenization adoption: Jupiter launched JupUSD with reserves tied to BlackRock’s tokenized BUIDL fund — a sign BlackRock-backed institutional assets are being used in on‑chain products, which could broaden distribution and fees long term. Jupiter Exchange Launches JupUSD Stablecoin with BlackRock-Backed Reserves
• Positive Sentiment: Company clarification: BlackRock publicly reiterated it does not buy single‑family homes after a Trump proposal sparked market confusion — the clarification reduces an ongoing reputational/regulatory overhang for the firm. EXCLUSIVE: BlackRock Says It Does Not Buy Single-Family Homes After Trump Proposal
• Neutral Sentiment: Governance/leadership attention: BlackRock’s Rick Rieder was asked about being on a short list for Fed Chair — raises headlines but uncertain impact on firm fundamentals; investors may watch for potential conflicts or time distractions if the story develops. BlackRock’s Rieder Reacts to Being Considered for Fed Chair
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock crypto leadership: senior ETF executives said it’s still “very early days” for Bitcoin/Ethereum adoption — tempered optimism that supports a measured, long‑run view on crypto AUM. BlackRock ETF Chief Says ‘Still Very Early Days’ For Bitcoin, Ethereum
• Neutral Sentiment: Minor ownership update: BlackRock reduced its stake in Finland’s Orion below the 5% disclosure threshold — routine portfolio move, limited impact on BLK fundamentals. Orion Corporation: Disclosure Under Chapter 9 Section 10 of the Securities Market Act (BlackRock, Inc.)
• Negative Sentiment: Large crypto flows/signals: multiple outlets reported BlackRock moved sizable BTC/ETH to Coinbase Prime (and some headlines framed it as “dumping” ~$276M BTC and ~$83M ETH), which can spook investors about crypto exposure and short‑term ETF flows. BlackRock sends $276M in Bitcoin and $83M in Ethereum to Coinbase Prime
• Negative Sentiment: Policy/politics ripple: Trump’s housing proposal triggered market confusion and a selloff in some real‑estate/asset‑manager stocks (and headlines conflating BlackRock/Blackstone amplified volatility), pressuring sentiment toward BLK. Trump Targets Wall Street Homebuyers: Why BlackRock, Blackstone Are Feeling The Heat
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst tweak: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods trimmed BLK’s price target slightly (still an outperform rating) — a modest headwind for sentiment. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowers price target on BlackRock

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.