LGT Group Foundation Grows Stock Position in BlackRock $BLK

LGT Group Foundation grew its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 13.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,590 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,370 shares during the period. LGT Group Foundation’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $53,162,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BLK. Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its stake in BlackRock by 450.0% during the 3rd 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 increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 1,000.0% during the third quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 22 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Traub Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in BlackRock by 866.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 29 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,190 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,087.29, for a total value of $58,920,245.10. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 51,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,971,514.62. The trade was a 51.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,125.00, for a total transaction of $22,500,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,630,750. This represents a 24.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 111,319 shares of company stock worth $123,999,249. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories 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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,244.00 to $1,267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. CICC Research boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,290.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Evercore lowered their price target on BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,235.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,308.89.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $953.67 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $148.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.48. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,089.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,098.99. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $773.74 and a fifty-two week high of $1,219.94. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $13.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.55 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.80 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 22.93% and a return on equity of 14.78%. BlackRock’s revenue was up 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $11.93 EPS. Equities analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $5.73 dividend. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.21. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 64.71%.

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.