BlackRock $BLK Shares Sold by Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lowered its position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 34,567 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 677 shares during the quarter. BlackRock accounts for about 1.1% of Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $36,998,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of BLK. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth about $6,201,000. Lingohr Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth about $700,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 6,347.9% during the 3rd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 42,234 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $49,239,000 after purchasing an additional 41,579 shares during the last quarter. Sienna Gestion grew its stake in BlackRock by 51.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 22,859 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $24,299,000 after acquiring an additional 7,773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter valued at about $83,247,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock filed to launch an iShares Nasdaq‑100 ETF (ticker IQQ), positioning the firm to capture a slice of the large Nasdaq‑100/QQQ market and potentially drive incremental ETF flows and fee revenue over time. BlackRock Takes Aim at Invesco
• Neutral Sentiment: Aiviq named former BlackRock and Apex executive Nicholas Morse as Head of Revenue, Americas — a personnel move reflecting BlackRock alumni influence in the asset‑management ecosystem but with limited direct impact on BLK’s near‑term fundamentals. Aiviq Appoints Nicholas Morse
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory/industry shifts — analysis suggests an SEC policy shift could reshape ETF and mutual fund structures (a “domino effect”), which may be material over time but is uncertain in timing and net effect for major managers like BlackRock. SEC Policy Shift Could Ease Capital Gains Pain
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock trimmed its direct voting stake in OMV below 4% — a routine holding disclosure that is unlikely to move BLK’s stock materially. BlackRock Trimmed Voting Stake in OMV
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman Sachs lowered its BlackRock price target from $1,341 to $1,181 while maintaining a Buy — the reduced target trims headline upside and can pressure sentiment among momentum/target‑sensitive holders. Goldman Lowers Price Target on BLK
• Negative Sentiment: Market caution ahead of BlackRock’s Q1 results is amplifying short‑term volatility; the ETF filing was publicized just before earnings, leaving investors to weigh near‑term costs and flow visibility versus longer‑term AUM opportunity. BLK ETF Filing Ahead of Q1

BlackRock Stock Performance

BlackRock stock opened at $959.36 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,026.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,074.70. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $773.74 and a 1-year high of $1,219.94. 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 stock has a market cap of $149.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.48.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $13.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $12.55 by $0.61. BlackRock had a net margin of 22.93% and a return on equity of 14.78%. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $11.93 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other news, CFO Martin Small sold 27,047 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The shares were 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 directly owned 10,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,363,724.98. This represents a 71.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 20,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,630,750. This represents a 24.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 111,319 shares of company stock valued at $123,999,249. 1.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BLK. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,456.00 to $1,464.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $1,351.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Friday, January 16th. UBS Group raised shares of BlackRock from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $1,280.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen cut shares of BlackRock from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,291.44.

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.