Aberdeen Group plc Has $121.61 Million Stock Holdings in BlackRock $BLK

Aberdeen Group plc lowered its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 113,621 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,925 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned about 0.07% of BlackRock worth $121,613,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 450.0% during the third quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 22 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new position in BlackRock during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Finally, Collier Financial acquired a new position in BlackRock in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. 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: BlackRock filed for a new iShares Bitcoin Premium Income ETF (ticker $BITA), a covered‑call/spot Bitcoin product that could expand fee revenue and ETF market share in crypto. BlackRock Files $BITA for Bitcoin Income ETF Strategy
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley kept an Overweight rating on BLK despite lowering its price target, signaling continued analyst conviction that shares have upside versus peers. Morgan Stanley Lowers BLK Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Recent market coverage noted BLK has been outperforming the broader market in the latest sessions, reflecting investor interest in asset managers amid market volatility. BlackRock Outperforms Broader Market
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock trimmed but still holds a sizable 7.77% stake in Siemens Energy—routine portfolio housekeeping that has limited immediate impact on BLK’s core business metrics. BlackRock Trims Stake in Siemens Energy
• Neutral Sentiment: Stora Enso disclosed a sub‑5% BlackRock ownership chain update — a regulatory/ownership filing with limited near‑term market implications for BLK. Stora Enso Details Sub‑5% BlackRock Ownership Chain
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock research and portfolio teams have adjusted stances (e.g., neutral on US stocks, and bearish positioning on German bonds), signaling active risk management rather than immediate revenue impact. BlackRock Cuts US Stocks to Neutral
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP announced an investigation into BlackRock investors’ claims, raising litigation risk and potential reputational/legal costs. Pomerantz Investigates BlackRock
• Negative Sentiment: Questions about possible insider access after a broker tied to the Defense Department made large trades in a BlackRock defense ETF have prompted compliance reviews and congressional attention—raising governance risk. Insider Access Questions Around ETF Trade
• Negative Sentiment: Liquidity stress in private credit (highlighted by massive redemption requests at Blue Owl and rising congressional scrutiny of private‑credit practices) increases regulatory and market risk for large asset managers exposed to private markets like BlackRock. Blue Owl Limits Redemptions
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market headwinds—financials sliding pre‑market and geopolitical escalation raising oil and volatility—are pressuring the sector and could weigh on BLK’s AUM growth and trading volumes. Sector Financial Stocks Fall Pre‑Bell

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director Stephen Cohen sold 225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,069.56, for a total value of $240,651.00. Following the sale, the director owned 5,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,054,779.16. The trade was a 3.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Martin Small sold 27,047 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,363,724.98. The trade was a 71.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 111,319 shares of company stock worth $123,999,249. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered BlackRock from a “moderate buy” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. UBS Group raised shares of BlackRock from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $1,280.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $1,351.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Friday, January 16th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, CICC Research boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,298.78.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE:BLK opened at $967.39 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $1,032.75 and its 200-day moving average is $1,077.65. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $773.74 and a 1-year high of $1,219.94. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market cap of $150.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.48.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $13.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.55 by $0.61. BlackRock had a net margin of 22.93% and a return on equity of 14.78%. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $11.93 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $5.73 per share. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.21. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.71%.

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.