Sonoma Allocations LLC Purchases Shares of 606 BlackRock $BLK

Sonoma Allocations LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 606 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $709,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in BLK. Mine & Arao Wealth Creation & Management LLC. purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the third quarter valued at about $213,000. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 41.3% during the 3rd quarter. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH now owns 1,784 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,080,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the period. Hudock Inc. acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $224,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in BlackRock by 1.7% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 20,061 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $23,389,000 after buying an additional 344 shares during the period. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its position in BlackRock by 0.9% during the third quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 1,441 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,679,000 after buying an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock and others see a big potential expansion in retail access to crypto, which supports future ETF/net‑new‑asset upside if Main Street demand grows. BlackRock predicts major shift in retail investors’ access to cryptocurrencies
• Positive Sentiment: Tokenization adoption: Jupiter launched JupUSD with reserves tied to BlackRock’s tokenized BUIDL fund — a sign BlackRock-backed institutional assets are being used in on‑chain products, which could broaden distribution and fees long term. Jupiter Exchange Launches JupUSD Stablecoin with BlackRock-Backed Reserves
• Positive Sentiment: Company clarification: BlackRock publicly reiterated it does not buy single‑family homes after a Trump proposal sparked market confusion — the clarification reduces an ongoing reputational/regulatory overhang for the firm. EXCLUSIVE: BlackRock Says It Does Not Buy Single-Family Homes After Trump Proposal
• Neutral Sentiment: Governance/leadership attention: BlackRock’s Rick Rieder was asked about being on a short list for Fed Chair — raises headlines but uncertain impact on firm fundamentals; investors may watch for potential conflicts or time distractions if the story develops. BlackRock’s Rieder Reacts to Being Considered for Fed Chair
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock crypto leadership: senior ETF executives said it’s still “very early days” for Bitcoin/Ethereum adoption — tempered optimism that supports a measured, long‑run view on crypto AUM. BlackRock ETF Chief Says ‘Still Very Early Days’ For Bitcoin, Ethereum
• Neutral Sentiment: Minor ownership update: BlackRock reduced its stake in Finland’s Orion below the 5% disclosure threshold — routine portfolio move, limited impact on BLK fundamentals. Orion Corporation: Disclosure Under Chapter 9 Section 10 of the Securities Market Act (BlackRock, Inc.)
• Negative Sentiment: Large crypto flows/signals: multiple outlets reported BlackRock moved sizable BTC/ETH to Coinbase Prime (and some headlines framed it as “dumping” ~$276M BTC and ~$83M ETH), which can spook investors about crypto exposure and short‑term ETF flows. BlackRock sends $276M in Bitcoin and $83M in Ethereum to Coinbase Prime
• Negative Sentiment: Policy/politics ripple: Trump’s housing proposal triggered market confusion and a selloff in some real‑estate/asset‑manager stocks (and headlines conflating BlackRock/Blackstone amplified volatility), pressuring sentiment toward BLK. Trump Targets Wall Street Homebuyers: Why BlackRock, Blackstone Are Feeling The Heat
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst tweak: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods trimmed BLK’s price target slightly (still an outperform rating) — a modest headwind for sentiment. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowers price target on BlackRock

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BLK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,305.00 to $1,298.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on BlackRock from $1,322.00 to $1,310.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,301.00 to $1,407.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,280.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,313.12.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:BLK opened at $1,085.06 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $168.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.47. 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 0.34, a quick ratio of 3.33 and a current ratio of 3.33. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,067.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,101.63.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 14th. The asset manager reported $11.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.78 by ($0.23). The business had revenue of $6.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.22 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.80% and a net margin of 26.64%.BlackRock’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $11.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 53.59%.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, Director Rachel Lord sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,165.04, for a total transaction of $13,980,480.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 7,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,394,113.20. This represents a 62.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Martin Small sold 1,258 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,043.38, for a total transaction of $1,312,572.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 6,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,478,346.42. This represents a 16.85% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

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.