BlackRock $BLK Shares Sold by Conning Inc.

Conning Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 13.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,439 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 4,639 shares during the period. BlackRock accounts for about 1.2% of Conning Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Conning Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $35,488,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,644,007,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in BlackRock by 105,267.4% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,705,899 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,789,915,000 after acquiring an additional 1,704,280 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 72.5% during the second 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 period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 1,962.0% during the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 792,494 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $831,524,000 after purchasing an additional 754,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the second quarter valued at $231,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,322.00 to $1,310.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Bank of America lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,456.00 to $1,464.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,280.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Argus raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,165.00 to $1,330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $1,209.00 target price (down from $1,407.00) on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Wednesday. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,303.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Rachel Lord sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Martin Small sold 1,258 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 6,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,478,346.42. This trade 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 corporate insiders.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $1,092.36 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $1,068.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,103.49. BlackRock has a 52-week low of $773.74 and a 52-week high of $1,219.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $169.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.09, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.47. 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 (NYSE:BLK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The asset manager reported $11.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.78 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $6.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.22 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.80% and a net margin of 26.64%.BlackRock’s revenue was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $11.46 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

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

Key BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong Bitcoin ETF inflows boost BlackRock’s ETF business — U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw a record day of inflows; BlackRock’s IBIT took in about $126M, highlighting renewed institutional demand for crypto ETFs that can lift fee revenue and AUM growth. BTC Breaks Higher
• Positive Sentiment: Chairman Larry Fink named interim co‑chair of WEF — Fink’s elevated public role at Davos can strengthen BlackRock’s profile with global institutional clients and policy makers. Davos/WEF Coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 earnings and previews are front‑and‑center — Analysts and previews ahead of BlackRock’s Jan. 15 print are creating positioning trades; results could swing the stock depending on EPS, revenue mix (active vs. index, ETF flows) and margin commentary. Earnings Preview
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock moved ~$339M in Bitcoin ahead of potential market volatility — operational moves in crypto holdings can affect short-term AUM and headline risk but aren’t necessarily directional for long-term revenue. BlackRock Moves Bitcoin
• Neutral Sentiment: Strategic positioning: BlackRock signals AI-related sector tilts toward energy/infrastructure — could reshape portfolio exposures and product launches but is a longer-term thematic story. AI Focus Shift
• Negative Sentiment: Job cuts announced (~1% of staff / ~250 roles) raise near-term concerns — layoffs signal cost discipline but also a re‑shaping of growth priorities; such news often pressures sentiment despite potential margin benefits. Layoffs Report
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst moves: TD Cowen reaffirms ‘hold’ and trims price target — the cut in target from $1,407 to $1,209 reduces upside expectations and can cap near-term multiple expansion. TD Cowen Rating

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.