Bank of New York Mellon Corp Decreases Stock Holdings in BlackRock $BLK

Bank of New York Mellon Corp reduced its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 1.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,030,344 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 14,170 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.67% of BlackRock worth $1,201,246,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BLK. Westerkirk Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,877,000. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey increased its position in BlackRock by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 23,167 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $24,308,000 after buying an additional 1,693 shares in the last quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in BlackRock during the third quarter valued at $6,201,000. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 8.2% in the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 256,937 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $269,591,000 after acquiring an additional 19,404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Liberty One Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 29.3% in the third quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 6,748 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $7,867,000 after acquiring an additional 1,529 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board addition strengthens governance and industry relationships — BlackRock elected Gregg R. Lemkau, Co‑CEO of BDT & MSD Partners, as an independent director; the hire is framed as adding deep market and investor-adviser experience to BlackRock’s board, a governance positive that can reassure investors. BlackRock Elects Gregg Lemkau to Board of Directors
• Positive Sentiment: Rieder Fed chatter raises BlackRock profile in fixed income — prediction markets and media coverage are naming BlackRock’s CIO of fixed income, Rick Rieder, as a leading Fed‑chair contender; that spotlight underscores BlackRock’s influence in rates/credit markets and could support asset‑gathering for its fixed‑income products. The market thinks BlackRock’s Rick Rieder will be the next Fed chair. Here’s what’s at stake
• Positive Sentiment: Product innovation in crypto ETFs — BlackRock filed for a new bitcoin ETF with a covered‑call strategy, expanding its crypto product set and demonstrating continued product innovation that can capture flows and fee revenue. BlackRock files for new bitcoin ETF with covered-call strategy
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock’s crypto ETF franchise remains a structural asset — coverage comparing bitcoin ETFs highlights iShares’ IBIT as the largest, low‑cost vehicle with strong institutional demand and partnerships (e.g., an annuity tie‑up), a long‑term positive for fee income though short‑term crypto volatility persists. 2 Bitcoin ETFs Whose Performances Don’t Justify Their Fees
• Neutral Sentiment: Portfolio moves: stake increases disclosed — BlackRock disclosed it raised its position in Caledonia Mining and has been active buying elsewhere (e.g., earlier disclosures showing large passive stakes); these are normal asset‑management portfolio actions and have limited direct impact on BlackRock’s own earnings but show active allocation. BlackRock Lifts Stake in Caledonia Mining to 7.45% of Voting Rights
• Negative Sentiment: Private‑credit markdowns create short‑term pressure — a private‑credit fund tied to BlackRock revealed a ~20% NAV markdown and has been heavily hit in premarket trade; concerns about valuation and liquidity in private credit can weigh on asset‑management sentiment and fee stability. Why a private-credit fund tied to BlackRock is getting hammered
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing private‑credit scrutiny — follow‑on coverage flags broader rumblings in BlackRock’s private‑credit exposure, which could prompt closer investor scrutiny of alternative‑asset valuations and near‑term AUM/earnings risk. Asset Manager BlackRock (BLK) Runs into Private Credit Trouble

BlackRock Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of BLK stock opened at $1,106.19 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a current ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $1,081.27 and its 200 day moving average is $1,107.40. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $773.74 and a 12-month high of $1,219.94.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released 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 return on equity of 15.14% and a net margin of 22.93%.The firm had revenue of $6.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $11.93 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $5.73 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.21. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.84%.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other news, CFO Martin Small sold 27,047 shares of the 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 owned 10,557 shares in the company, valued at $12,363,724.98. This represents a 71.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,125.00, for a total transaction of $22,500,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders sold a total of 48,305 shares of company stock worth $55,488,396 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BLK. Barclays upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of BlackRock from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,244.00 to $1,267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,514.00 to $1,550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, UBS Group set a $1,280.00 target price on BlackRock in a research note on Friday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,314.71.

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.