Caprock Group LLC Makes New $4.98 Million Investment in BlackRock $BLK

Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,413 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $4,975,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 450.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 22 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 1,000.0% during the third quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 22 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Traub Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 107.1% during the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 29 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in BlackRock by 866.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 29 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Monday, December 29th. Freedom Capital raised BlackRock from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,290.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Evercore cut their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $1,255.00 target price on BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,311.11.

Insider Activity

In other BlackRock news, CFO Martin Small sold 27,047 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,171.14, for a total value of $31,675,823.58. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 20,000 shares of BlackRock 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 value of $22,500,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 61,894 shares in the company, valued at $69,630,750. This trade represents a 24.42% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 48,305 shares of company stock valued at $55,488,396 over the last quarter. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE:BLK opened at $1,083.16 on Thursday. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $773.74 and a 1 year high of $1,219.94. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,093.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,106.50. The company has a market capitalization of $168.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 3.33 and a quick ratio of 3.33.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $13.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $12.55 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $6.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.80 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 22.93% and a return on equity of 15.14%. BlackRock’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $11.93 EPS. On average, analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.21. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.84%.

Key Headlines Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock is formally entering DeFi by listing its USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) on Uniswap, allowing institutional on‑chain trading and continuous liquidity — a strategic expansion of its digital‑asset product set that could boost AUM and fees for its digital division. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Market reaction: Uniswap’s UNI spiked after BlackRock said it would purchase UNI and enable BUIDL trading on Uniswap, a move that briefly lifted sentiment in crypto and highlights BlackRock’s willingness to take token positions tied to its product launches. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: A Texas judge struck down a state law that would have blacklisted firms using ESG factors, a legal development that eases regulatory pressure on BlackRock’s ESG policies and could reduce political/regulatory risk for the firm’s stewardship strategies. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend support: BlackRock raised its dividend ~10% in January, a shareholder‑friendly action that helps underpin investor income expectations. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Personnel: Brett Miller, head of data analytics for BlackRock’s Investment Stewardship team, left to join Sodali & Co — a routine senior‑talent move that is unlikely to materially affect results but matters for stewardship analytics continuity. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/crypto flows: Continued spot‑Bitcoin ETF inflows underscore sustained demand for BlackRock’s crypto ETF products, supporting AUM growth even as underlying crypto prices remain volatile. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Private‑credit loss: The WSJ reports a $400M loss at a BlackRock unit tied to fake invoices — a reminder of operational and credit risks in private lending that could weigh on performance and investor confidence. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Legal risk: BlackRock executives were hit with an investor lawsuit alleging climate‑collusion in stewardship practices, adding litigation risk and distraction for management. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Crypto rebalancing: Reports indicate BlackRock has reduced Bitcoin and Ethereum holdings in part of its crypto portfolio, which could signal tactical profit‑taking or risk management but may disappoint investors who expected sustained accumulation. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Market positioning: Short interest in BLK rose ~22% during January, increasing downside pressure and making the stock more sensitive to negative headlines. (Short‑interest data reported 1,503,354 shares as of Jan 30.)

BlackRock Company 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.