Maltese Capital Management LLC Purchases 1,571 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Maltese Capital Management LLC lifted its position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 34.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,071 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,571 shares during the period. Maltese Capital Management LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $7,078,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. raised its position in BlackRock by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 817 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $857,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the period. First Financial Bank Trust Division boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 0.5% during the third quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 1,794 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,092,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co. grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 0.6% during the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 1,444 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,683,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. PUREfi Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.0% in the third quarter. PUREfi Wealth LLC now owns 460 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $536,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.1% in the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. now owns 938 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $984,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director Stephen Cohen sold 2,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director owned 6,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,026,331.41. This trade represents a 24.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Martin Small sold 27,047 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,171.14, for a total transaction of $31,675,823.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 10,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,363,724.98. This represents a 71.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 111,319 shares of company stock valued at $123,999,249 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock launched the iShares Staked Ethereum Trust (ETHB), an ETF that tracks Ether and passes staking rewards to investors — a differentiated crypto product that can attract new AUM and recurring fee income in digital assets. BlackRock launches new ethereum ETF packed with staking rewards
• Positive Sentiment: Crypto markets and ETF flows are improving (Bitcoin near a multi-week high; Ether outperformed), which supports demand for crypto ETFs and the new ETHB product — a tailwind for BlackRock’s digital-assets AUM and fees. Bitcoin touches a six-week high as investors pour into ETFs
• Positive Sentiment: Market coverage notes BLK outperformed the broader market today, reflecting favorable headlines (product launches and ETF flow momentum) that helped lift sentiment. Why BlackRock (BLK) Outpaced the Stock Market Today
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock increased its stake in Rentokil Initial above 12% — an example of active portfolio deployment; noteworthy for signaling conviction but not directly changing BLK’s fundamentals. Rentokil Initial Discloses Increase in BlackRock Stake Above 12%
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock’s research warns that treasuries and other government bonds could keep selling off amid inflationary pressures — a macro view that could boost trading and advisory revenue but also poses mark-to-market and performance risks for fixed-income products. Treasuries and Other Government Bonds Will Keep Selling Off, BlackRock Says. These Risks Are Lurking.
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage comparing BlackRock’s thematic ETFs (e.g., ARTY) versus peers (e.g., VGT) highlights competition in the ETF market — relevant for fund flows but not an immediate catalyst. Vanguard’s VGT or BlackRock’s ARTY: Which Tech ETF is the Smarter AI Play in 2026?
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that private-credit funds face large investor redemptions (a cited $10B exit wave) and that the private-credit stress is spreading to firms beyond Blue Owl raise risk for BlackRock’s private-credit strategies — potential AUM outflows, performance pressure, and reputational scrutiny. Wall Street Lunch: Private Credit Funds Face $10B Investor Exit Wave
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage noting the private-credit collapse spreading to BlackRock underscores immediate near-term downside risk for fee-bearing private assets and could weigh on investor confidence in BLK’s alternative-investment franchise. The private credit collapse spreads from Blue Owl to BlackRock

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Bank of America lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,456.00 to $1,464.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. UBS Group raised shares of BlackRock from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $1,280.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,244.00 to $1,267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, CICC Research lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,308.89.

BlackRock Trading Up 2.1%

BLK opened at $943.30 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $1,072.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,090.91. The company has a market capitalization of $146.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.63, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.48. BlackRock has a 52 week low of $773.74 and a 52 week high of $1,219.94.

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

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $5.73 dividend. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 64.71%.

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.