Stephen Cohen Sells 225 Shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Stock

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Director Stephen Cohen sold 225 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,069.56, for a total transaction of $240,651.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,054,779.16. This represents a 3.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Stephen Cohen also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, February 11th, Stephen Cohen sold 2,179 shares of BlackRock stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,073.87, for a total transaction of $2,339,962.73.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of BLK stock opened at $1,089.89 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $169.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.77, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.47. BlackRock has a 52-week low of $773.74 and a 52-week high of $1,219.94. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,094.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,104.00.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $13.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.55 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.80 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.14% and a net margin of 22.93%.The company’s revenue was up 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $11.93 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $5.73 dividend. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.21. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is presently 58.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on BLK shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $1,351.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Friday, January 16th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. 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, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,296.00 to $1,380.00 in a report on Thursday, January 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,311.11.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackRock

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BLK. Pacifica Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 450.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 22 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in BlackRock by 1,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 22 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Traub Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 107.1% in the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 29 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Large operational partnership — BlackRock tapped Citi to provide middle‑office services for roughly $4.0T of U.S. iShares ETFs on Aladdin, which should improve ETF processing, distribution efficiency and could support future inflows. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Crypto ETF momentum — US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a large daily inflow (~$258M) with BlackRock among leaders; sustained flows into IBIT/crypto ETFs would lift fee revenue and reinforce BlackRock’s ETF franchise. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic investments — BlackRock is active in DeFi and AI ecosystems (stake activity with DeFi infrastructure deals and participation in AI chip funding), underscoring diversification into growth themes beyond core asset management. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate actions and holdings updates — BlackRock marginally reduced its stake in BAWAG Group; smaller‑company trusts announced a merger to cut costs and boost scale (operative for subsidiaries/closed‑end trusts, not BLK’s core P&L). Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary — Analysts dispute claims that a single trading firm (Jane Street) systematically moves Bitcoin via IBIT-related flows; markets view BTC moves as broader risk repricing rather than firm manipulation. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability and cash‑flow pressure — Q4 showed revenue growth (~23%) but sharp declines in operating profit, net income and EPS and weaker operating cash flow, increasing near‑term margin concerns. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Operational/reputational risk — Reporting that BlackRock was duped into a $430M telecom loan involving alleged fake invoices raises questions about credit underwriting and controls. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — Multiple senior BlackRock executives and directors (recent Form 4 filings) have sold shares in the past days/weeks; continued insider sales can pressure sentiment even if motivated by routine liquidity. Read More. • Read More.

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.