Albion Financial Group UT Cuts Stock Holdings in BlackRock $BLK

Albion Financial Group UT reduced its holdings in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,219 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,309 shares during the period. BlackRock makes up 1.7% of Albion Financial Group UT’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Albion Financial Group UT’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $28,063,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,841,088 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,146,663,000 after buying an additional 10,591 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,213,561 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,414,854,000 after buying an additional 143,126 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 913,121 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,064,580,000 after buying an additional 39,412 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1,962.0% in the 2nd quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 792,494 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $831,524,000 after buying an additional 754,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Viking Global Investors LP grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 217.5% in the 3rd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 619,492 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $722,247,000 after buying an additional 424,388 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:BLK opened at $959.36 on Tuesday. BlackRock has a one year low of $773.74 and a one year high of $1,219.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. The firm has a market cap of $149.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.48. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,026.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,074.70.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $13.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the business posted $11.93 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal 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 $5.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.21. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,550.00 to $1,368.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. TD Cowen cut shares of BlackRock from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. CICC Research raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,341.00 to $1,181.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,291.44.

Key Stories Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock filed to launch an iShares Nasdaq‑100 ETF (ticker IQQ), positioning the firm to capture a slice of the large Nasdaq‑100/QQQ market and potentially drive incremental ETF flows and fee revenue over time. BlackRock Takes Aim at Invesco
• Neutral Sentiment: Aiviq named former BlackRock and Apex executive Nicholas Morse as Head of Revenue, Americas — a personnel move reflecting BlackRock alumni influence in the asset‑management ecosystem but with limited direct impact on BLK’s near‑term fundamentals. Aiviq Appoints Nicholas Morse
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory/industry shifts — analysis suggests an SEC policy shift could reshape ETF and mutual fund structures (a “domino effect”), which may be material over time but is uncertain in timing and net effect for major managers like BlackRock. SEC Policy Shift Could Ease Capital Gains Pain
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock trimmed its direct voting stake in OMV below 4% — a routine holding disclosure that is unlikely to move BLK’s stock materially. BlackRock Trimmed Voting Stake in OMV
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman Sachs lowered its BlackRock price target from $1,341 to $1,181 while maintaining a Buy — the reduced target trims headline upside and can pressure sentiment among momentum/target‑sensitive holders. Goldman Lowers Price Target on BLK
• Negative Sentiment: Market caution ahead of BlackRock’s Q1 results is amplifying short‑term volatility; the ETF filing was publicized just before earnings, leaving investors to weigh near‑term costs and flow visibility versus longer‑term AUM opportunity. BLK ETF Filing Ahead of Q1

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 385 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,084.91, for a total value of $417,690.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,618,174.85. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Martin Small sold 27,047 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,171.14, for a total transaction of $31,675,823.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 10,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,363,724.98. This represents a 71.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 111,319 shares of company stock worth $123,999,249. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.