BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Lowered to “Moderate Sell” Rating by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) was downgraded by equities researchers at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from a “moderate buy” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Freedom Capital upgraded BlackRock from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BlackRock from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,296.00 to $1,380.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,311.11.

BlackRock Stock Down 1.4%

BlackRock stock opened at $1,052.93 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $163.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.48. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $1,093.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,101.51. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $773.74 and a 1-year high of $1,219.94. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted 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 company had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.80 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 22.93% and a return on equity of 14.78%. The firm’s revenue was up 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $11.93 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other news, Director Stephen Cohen sold 2,179 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,073.87, for a total transaction of $2,339,962.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,026,331.41. This represents a 24.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 20,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,125.00, for a total transaction of $22,500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 61,894 shares in the company, valued at $69,630,750. This trade represents a 24.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 111,319 shares of company stock worth $123,999,249 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of BlackRock

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacifica Partners Inc. grew 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 worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 1,000.0% during the third quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 22 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Traub Capital Management LLC bought a new position in BlackRock during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 866.7% in the third quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 29 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s infrastructure arm is part of a consortium that agreed to take AES private, a large deal that could generate fees and demonstrate deal‑flow for its infrastructure platform. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock confirmed a regular dividend payment on March 24 — supportive for income investors and a reminder of the firm’s long payout track record. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Flows into iShares ETFs tied to oil/defense themes have lifted some BlackRock ETF products amid market volatility, showing the firm’s ability to capture ETF demand during sector rotations. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock is moving to sell an 11.4% stake in Spanish energy firm Naturgy and has appointed banks to execute the sale — a portfolio rebalancing step that could modestly affect reported holdings and realizations. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock disclosed an increased stake in Austria’s BAWAG to just over 5% and continues active portfolio moves in Europe — signals of active capital allocation rather than material corporate change. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports note BlackRock’s involvement or ties in broader blockchain/financial infrastructure initiatives (ADI Chain/Chainlink mention). This is background partnership news with limited near‑term earnings impact. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/seizure issues in Panama are complicating a BlackRock‑backed buyer’s attempt to close CK Hutchison’s global ports deal without two Panama terminals — increased deal risk and legal uncertainty. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East are lifting oil prices and driving a selloff in Treasuries (higher yields), reviving inflation worries that pressure equities and can hurt fee‑sensitive asset managers like BlackRock in the near term. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Some BlackRock‑managed vehicles (e.g., BlackRock TCP Capital) reported NAV hits, which can spook income‑oriented investors and weigh on sentiment around the group’s credit/BDCs. Read More.

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.