Country Trust Bank Has $45.21 Million Stock Holdings in BlackRock $BLK

Country Trust Bank increased its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 26.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,235 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 8,710 shares during the quarter. Country Trust Bank’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $45,206,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. 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. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. grew its position in BlackRock by 866.7% during the third quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 29 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the third quarter worth about $36,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,630,750. The trade was a 24.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,190 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,087.29, for a total transaction of $58,920,245.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 51,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,971,514.62. This trade represents a 51.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 111,319 shares of company stock worth $123,999,249. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

BlackRock News Summary

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

BlackRock Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of BLK opened at $959.36 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $149.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.48. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $1,026.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,074.70.

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

BlackRock Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on BLK shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Evercore decreased their target price on BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,235.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BlackRock from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 17th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,456.00 to $1,464.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded shares of BlackRock from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,291.44.

BlackRock 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.