Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in BlackRock $BLK

Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,252 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 515 shares during the period. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $6,123,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 2.0% during the third quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 797 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $929,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 139,072 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $162,140,000 after purchasing an additional 1,465 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its stake in BlackRock by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 3,892 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,538,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 43.4% in the 3rd quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 823 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $960,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spirepoint Private Client LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 3,136 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,656,000 after buying an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Massive one‑day inflows into bitcoin ETFs led by BlackRock’s IBIT (largest single ETF inflow), boosting fee-earning AUM and reinforcing BlackRock’s leadership in crypto ETFs. Bitcoin ETFs Pull $697M in One Day as BlackRock’s IBIT Leads Massive Market Inflows
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst optimism that BLK is positioned to beat upcoming earnings again (strong surprise history, favorable revenue/fee mix) supports upside expectations for EPS and multiple expansion. Why BlackRock (BLK) is Poised to Beat Earnings Estimates Again
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock raised its stake in OMV above a 4% voting threshold, showing active portfolio/strategic moves that can signal growth opportunities or activist-style influence. BlackRock Increases Stake in OMV Above 4% Voting Rights Threshold
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock’s 2026 outlook emphasizes AI-driven opportunities but calls for selectivity — constructive for fund flows into thematic ETFs but implies stock/strategy dispersion. BlackRock’s 2026 outlook: AI fuels growth, but selectivity takes center stage
• Neutral Sentiment: Rick Rieder (CIO, Global Fixed Income) warns 2026 is a market for investors not gamblers — stewardship comments that may encourage longer-term allocations but reduce short-term risk-on trading. ‘2026 Is a Market for Investors, Not Gamblers,’ Says BlackRock’s Rick Rieder
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock fund commentaries (e.g., International Fund Q3) and ETF-strategy interviews (Jay Jacobs) reiterate product-level growth but are informational rather than immediate stock catalysts. BlackRock International Fund Q3 2025 Commentary
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock commentary on commodity opportunities (e.g., copper) highlights new thematic areas for clients, possibly supporting ETF/institutional flows over time. BlackRock Sees Prospect of ‘Very Exciting’ Copper Market
• Negative Sentiment: Speculative crypto token stories linking BlackRock to obscure tokens (e.g., Ozak AI token hype) create noise and reputational/volatility risk without substantiated corporate action — could distract/increase headline volatility. What Happens If BlackRock Quietly Enters Ozak AI? Analysts Say a Single Institutional Move Could Push This $0.014 Token to $5 by 2026
• Negative Sentiment: Background: last reported quarter saw a small EPS miss even as revenue grew strongly — that mixed print can keep some investors cautious ahead of the next report. BlackRock trading & recent results summary

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLK has been the topic of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,280.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Citigroup raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,160.00 to $1,265.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,456.00 to $1,464.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,316.18.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.6%

BlackRock stock opened at $1,112.50 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $1,067.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,101.22. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $773.74 and a fifty-two week high of $1,219.94. The company has a market capitalization of $172.60 billion, a PE ratio of 28.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 3.33 and a current ratio of 3.33.

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

BlackRock Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Rachel Lord sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,165.04, for a total transaction of $13,980,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 7,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,394,113.20. The trade was a 62.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 value of $1,312,572.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 6,209 shares in the company, valued at $6,478,346.42. This represents a 16.85% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.