Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Has $4.66 Million Position in BlackRock $BLK

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 18.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,350 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 686 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $4,657,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in BlackRock during the third quarter valued at about $6,201,000. Lingohr Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the third quarter valued at about $700,000. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 19,404 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 6,347.9% during the 3rd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 42,234 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $49,239,000 after purchasing an additional 41,579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sienna Gestion lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 51.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 22,859 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $24,299,000 after purchasing an additional 7,773 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, Director Stephen Cohen sold 225 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,069.56, for a total value of $240,651.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,054,779.16. This represents a 3.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Martin Small sold 27,047 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,171.14, for a total transaction of $31,675,823.58. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,363,724.98. The trade was a 71.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 111,319 shares of company stock worth $123,999,249. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.1%

BlackRock stock opened at $967.39 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $1,029.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,075.95. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. BlackRock has a 12 month low of $773.74 and a 12 month high of $1,219.94. The stock has a market cap of $150.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.48.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $13.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $12.55 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.80 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.78% and a net margin of 22.93%.BlackRock’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $11.93 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $5.73 per share. This is an increase 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%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.71%.

BlackRock News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) has seen a surge in trading volume, reportedly doubling Coinbase’s volume and making IBIT competitive with major crypto venues — this boosts fee and distribution momentum for BlackRock’s ETF business and signals strong retail/institutional demand. BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) Doubles the Trading Volume of Coinbase to Now Rival Binance
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock expanded and extended its revolving credit facility (seventeenth amendment), improving liquidity and reducing near‑term refinancing risk for the firm and its subsidiaries — a balance‑sheet positive that can reassure credit markets. BlackRock Expands and Extends Revolving Credit Facility
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock is reallocating capital across themes — increasing exposure to quantum computing (IQM) while adding bearish positions on German government bonds — signaling active tactical positioning that could pay off or hurt near term depending on macro moves. BlackRock Balances Quantum Computing Bet With Bearish German Bond Views
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock’s Tactical Opportunities fund has expanded short positions in German bunds (expects yields to rise above 3.13%), a portfolio hedge that reflects Europe inflation worries but is a tactical stance rather than a structural problem. BlackRock Fund Expands Shorts, Sees German Yields Above 3.13%
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and litigation risk: Pomerantz LLP has opened an investigation and there are public investor alerts after BlackRock limited withdrawals from its HPS Corporate Lending private credit fund when redemptions exceeded a 5% liquidity threshold — this raises governance, disclosure and legal risk for BlackRock’s fast‑growing alternatives business. BlackRock Liquidity Probe in Private Credit Might Change The Case For Investing In BlackRock (BLK)
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst/market pressure: Morgan Stanley has lowered its expectations for BLK, and other pieces highlight intensifying regulatory scrutiny and governance questions around private credit and ETF communications — factors that could weigh on the stock if litigation or regulatory action escalates. Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Stock Price
• Negative Sentiment: Sector stress: large private‑credit firms (e.g., Blue Owl) have limited redemptions after heavy outflows, underscoring systemic liquidity risk in the private credit space that could amplify reputational and redemption risks for BlackRock’s alternatives platform. Blue Owl Limits Redemptions on Private Credit Funds After Massive Exit Requests

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen lowered BlackRock from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on BlackRock from $1,290.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,296.00 to $1,380.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BlackRock from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,298.78.

About BlackRock

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.