Country Trust Bank Sells 5,870 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Country Trust Bank cut its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 33,525 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 5,870 shares during the quarter. Country Trust Bank’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $39,086,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BLK. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in BlackRock by 1.7% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,991,264 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $14,680,334,000 after buying an additional 227,192 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,143,429 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,281,641,000 after purchasing an additional 34,049 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,644,007,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in BlackRock by 72.5% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,005,358 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,104,122,000 after purchasing an additional 842,901 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in BlackRock by 105,267.4% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,705,899 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,789,915,000 after purchasing an additional 1,704,280 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations: revenue of ~$7.01B and EPS above consensus; AUM hit a record ~$14T, driven by strong ETF and fixed‑income inflows — this is the main catalyst lifting the stock. Business Wire: Q4 Release
• Positive Sentiment: Capital returns and shareholder friendly moves: BlackRock raised its dividend ~10% and announced new buybacks, supporting EPS per share and investor sentiment. TipRanks: Dividend & Buybacks
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic growth initiatives: BlackRock and Microsoft partnership has raised ~$12.5B toward a $30B AI infrastructure goal — helps diversify fee sources and long‑term growth expectations. PYMNTS: AI Partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades/raises: Deutsche Bank and BNP Paribas lifted or increased price targets (Deutsche to $1,380 in one note; BNP Paribas to $1,300), signaling upside from current levels and helping momentum. MarketScreener: Deutsche Bank PT Raise
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst picture overall — multiple firms updated targets after earnings (median target ~$1,305), producing both buy/outperform views and some caution; this creates offsetting analyst signals. QuiverQuant: Analyst/Targets Summary
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability and cash‑flow comments: some reports highlight a sharp year‑over‑year drop in net income and pressure on operating profit/cash flow, which could concern investors focused on margins and free cash generation. WSJ: Profit Fell
• Negative Sentiment: Some price‑target cuts and “hold” stances (Evercore, BMO, TD Cowen trimmed targets or adjusted ratings) offset bullish notes and could cap near‑term upside. MarketScreener: Evercore PT Cut

BlackRock Stock Up 6.0%

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $1,157.55 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $1,070.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,103.87. The company has a market cap of $179.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.76, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 3.33 and a quick ratio of 3.33. BlackRock has a one year low of $773.74 and a one year high of $1,219.94.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly 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. BlackRock had a net margin of 26.64% and a return on equity of 14.80%. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $11.93 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $5.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.21. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays dropped their price target on BlackRock from $1,340.00 to $1,300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,218.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $1,313.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,296.00 to $1,380.00 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,303.18.

Insider Activity

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

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.