Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in BlackRock $BLK

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,147 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 758 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $7,167,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Welch Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 760 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $797,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 340 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. CNB Bank raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 103 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the period. Magellan Asset Management Ltd boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 14.3% in the second quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 72 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FAS Wealth Partners Inc. grew its position in BlackRock by 1.1% during the second quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 817 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $857,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Institutional hiring and crypto build-out — Articles highlight that large institutions (including BlackRock) are scaling crypto teams and capabilities, supporting long-term growth prospects for crypto-related AUM and fee revenue. From Revolut to BlackRock: How Institutions Are Hiring for Crypto at Scale
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish ETF thesis — Commentary predicting a top BlackRock ETF will outperform the S&P 500 in 2026 (driven by heavyweight tech holdings) supports investor optimism about fee growth and product strength. Prediction: This Unstoppable BlackRock ETF Will Beat the S&P 500 Again in 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Tokenization participation — Reports that BlackRock joined industry moves around RWA/tokenized asset platforms (e.g., Ondo ecosystem) suggest new product channels for institutional clients and potential future AUM expansion. Ondo Finance Leads RWA Tokenization Revolution with $2 Billion Trading Volume in 2025
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly fund commentaries — BlackRock fund commentaries for Q3 2025 outline positioning and performance but contain no immediate market-moving announcements; useful context for portfolio strategy. BlackRock Capital Appreciation V.I. Fund Q3 2025 Commentary BlackRock Mid-Cap Growth Equity Fund Q3 2025 Commentary
• Neutral Sentiment: Minor portfolio adjustments — BlackRock trimming its stake in OMV below a voting threshold and ceasing to be a substantial holder in Genesis Minerals are routine rebalancings with limited direct impact on BLK’s business. BlackRock Trims Stake in OMV Below 4% Voting Rights Threshold BlackRock Ceases to Be Substantial Shareholder in Genesis Minerals
• Negative Sentiment: Large crypto transfers ahead of options expiry — BlackRock moved over $120M of Bitcoin and Ethereum to Coinbase Prime ahead of a roughly $2.2B options expiry, triggering market concern about forced selling and short-term volatility in crypto ETFs. This heightened volatility can hurt ETF flows and fee revenue. BlackRock Moves Bitcoin and Ethereum, Stirring Sell-Off Fears Ahead of $2.2B Options Expiry BlackRock moves over $120M in Bitcoin and Ethereum to Coinbase Prime
• Negative Sentiment: Year-end crypto ETF outflows — Recent reports show net outflows from US Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs (IBIT and ETHA among the largest moves), which can reduce AUM and fees if the trend persists. Bitcoin ETFs Close the Year with $348M Outflow Ethereum Spot ETFs Update: $72M Withdrawn
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/regulatory pressure — A multi-state lawsuit alleging that asset managers (including BlackRock) influenced coal prices introduces legal and reputational risk that could draw investor scrutiny. Red States Sue BlackRock, State Street And Vanguard Over Coal Prices

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,301.00 to $1,407.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,360.00 to $1,340.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $1,313.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of BlackRock from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,486.00 to $1,514.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,316.18.

Insider Activity

In other BlackRock news, Director Rachel Lord sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director directly owned 7,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,394,113.20. This represents a 62.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Martin Small sold 1,258 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 6,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,478,346.42. The trade was a 16.85% 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 Up 1.3%

BLK opened at $1,084.27 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $168.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.47. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $1,068.14 and its 200-day moving average is $1,098.40. The company has a quick ratio of 3.33, a current ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. BlackRock has a 52-week low of $773.74 and a 52-week 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 for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.78 by ($0.23). BlackRock had a net margin of 26.64% and a return on equity of 14.80%. The firm had revenue of $6.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $11.46 earnings per share. BlackRock’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

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

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.