BlackRock $BLK Stock Position Trimmed by Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management trimmed its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 13.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,410 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 863 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $5,791,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in BLK. Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its position 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 buying an additional 18 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its position in BlackRock by 1,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 22 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in BlackRock during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. raised 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 valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Collier Financial acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

More BlackRock News

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BLK shares. Bank of America raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,456.00 to $1,464.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of BlackRock from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $1,313.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Evercore decreased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,235.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,298.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, Director Stephen Cohen sold 225 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,069.56, for a total transaction of $240,651.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,054,779.16. This trade represents a 3.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 385 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,084.91, for a total value of $417,690.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,335 shares in the company, valued at $3,618,174.85. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 111,319 shares of company stock valued at $123,999,249. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

BlackRock Price Performance

NYSE:BLK opened at $967.39 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $1,032.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,077.65. BlackRock has a 52-week low of $773.74 and a 52-week high of $1,219.94. The firm has a market cap of $150.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.31, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.48.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $13.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.55 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $7.01 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 14.78%. BlackRock’s revenue was up 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $11.93 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

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