BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on BLK. UBS Group lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,270.00 to $1,320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,145.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of BlackRock from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $1,165.00 to $1,364.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,304.29.

BlackRock Price Performance

BlackRock stock opened at $1,056.84 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,031.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,042.28. BlackRock has a 12 month low of $917.39 and a 12 month high of $1,219.94. The company has a market cap of $163.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.26, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 4.09, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $13.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $12.69 by $1.22. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.01% and a net margin of 24.09%.The firm had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $12.05 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 30.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 55.63 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $5.73 per share. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is presently 54.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,050.55, for a total value of $35,613,645.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 230,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $242,168,583.80. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,056.60, for a total transaction of $9,233,627.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 210,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $222,082,527.60. This trade represents a 3.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Birchbrook Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. 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’s board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $5.73 per share, reinforcing its shareholder-return profile and signaling confidence in cash generation. BlackRock Declares Quarterly Dividend of $5.73 on Common Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Bitcoin ETF inflows remained strong, with BlackRock’s IBIT extending its hot streak and helping the firm capture more crypto-linked demand. Bitcoin ETFs See $900 Million Weekly Inflows as IBIT Extends Hot Streak
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s Q2 earnings call highlighted record $15.3 trillion in AUM and stronger net inflows, underscoring improving scale and momentum in the core asset-management business. BlackRock (BLK) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock-backed GIP and partners completed the acquisition of Aligned Data Centers and committed an additional $5 billion in growth capital, strengthening BlackRock’s position in AI infrastructure investing. AIP, MGX and BlackRock’s GIP Close Acquisition of Aligned Data Centers
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded BlackRock from hold to strong-buy, which may help sentiment around the shares. Zacks upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock Canada announced monthly iShares ETF cash distributions, including an estimated payout for the Premium Money Market ETF; this is routine and generally not a major driver for BLK stock. BlackRock Canada Announces July Cash Distributions for the iShares ETFs
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock’s advisory view that the semiconductor selloff was overdone reflects the firm’s broader market commentary, but it is not a direct earnings or operating catalyst for BLK itself. Time to Buy SanDisk, Micron? BlackRock Says Chip Stock Rout Is Overdone

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.