Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Increases Stake in BlackRock $BLK

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 1.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 76,665 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 1,097 shares during the quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $89,382,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in BlackRock by 1.7% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,991,264 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $14,680,334,000 after acquiring an additional 227,192 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,644,007,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 72.5% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,005,358 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,104,122,000 after purchasing an additional 842,901 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,841,088 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,146,663,000 after purchasing an additional 10,591 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 105,267.4% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,705,899 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,789,915,000 after purchasing an additional 1,704,280 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $922.79 on Friday. 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 has a 1-year low of $773.74 and a 1-year high of $1,219.94. The stock has a market cap of $143.53 billion, a PE ratio of 26.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.48. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $1,075.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,092.52.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $12.55 by $0.61. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.78% and a net margin of 22.93%.The company had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $11.93 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $5.73 dividend. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 64.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore lowered their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded BlackRock from a “moderate buy” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $1,351.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Friday, January 16th. One investment 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, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,308.89.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 20,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,125.00, for a total transaction of $22,500,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,630,750. The trade was a 24.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the director owned 6,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,026,331.41. This represents a 24.98% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 111,319 shares of company stock worth $123,999,249. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

More BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Launch of iShares Staked Ethereum Trust (ETHB) expands BlackRock’s crypto product lineup and produced a solid debut (~$15.5M day‑one volume), a positive revenue/flows catalyst if assets scale. BlackRock’s New Staked Ethereum ETF (ETHB) Sees ‘Very, Very Solid’ $15.5 Million Debut, Says Analyst
• Positive Sentiment: Crypto market coverage notes whale ETH accumulation alongside the ETHB launch — bullish for BlackRock’s digital asset distribution and potential fee/flow growth. Ethereum (ETH) Sees Major Whale Buying as BlackRock Launches Staked ETF Product
• Positive Sentiment: Market reaction to BlackRock CIO calls (and related portfolio positioning) has helped lift some sector indices (clean energy) — indicative of the firm’s market influence and potential to drive ETF flows. Clean Energy Index Jumps 61% After BlackRock CIO’s Contrarian Call
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory disclosures show BlackRock holds ~10–11% capital/voting stakes in Qiagen — a standard large‑holder filing that is notable but not an immediate company revenue driver. BlackRock Reports 10.6% Capital and 11.8% Voting Stake in Qiagen
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock Canada announced index/methodology changes to three CAD‑hedged iShares funds — routine product updates with limited near‑term impact on BLK’s consolidated results. BlackRock® Canada Announces Product Changes
• Negative Sentiment: Private‑credit stress: reporting that Morgan Stanley and BlackRock capped/limited withdrawals in some private‑credit vehicles has pressured asset managers and sparked concerns about redemptions, markdowns and fee revenue risk. This is a near‑term negative for BLK if private‑credit flows and valuations deteriorate. Exclusive: Morgan Stanley and BlackRock limit withdrawals—is private credit gating a crisis or market ‘stabilizer’?
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: coverage highlights a BLK share pullback alongside weakness in private‑credit peers, signaling investor concern about the sector’s spillover to large asset managers. BlackRock Stock Slide As Private Credit Firms Tumble
• Negative Sentiment: Investor litigation alert: Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of BlackRock investors — potential legal/PR risk that could distract management and create uncertainty. INVESTOR ALERT: Pomerantz Law Firm Investigates Claims On Behalf of Investors of BlackRock, Inc. – BLK

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.