Cerity Partners LLC Boosts Holdings in BlackRock $BLK

Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 147,415 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,343 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $157,786,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cantillon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 514,252 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $550,424,000 after acquiring an additional 3,850 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in BlackRock by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,070,468 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,216,105,000 after acquiring an additional 253,314 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in BlackRock by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 35,231 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $38,054,000 after acquiring an additional 3,197 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 32,262 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $34,531,000 after acquiring an additional 1,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 741 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $793,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,351.00 to $1,199.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,181.00 to $1,313.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of BlackRock from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,264.61.

BlackRock Price Performance

BlackRock stock opened at $993.89 on Tuesday. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $917.39 and a 12-month high of $1,219.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $154.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $1,034.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,051.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 4.09 and a quick ratio of 4.09.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $12.40 by $0.13. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.40% and a return on equity of 14.74%. The business had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.56 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.64 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that BlackRock will post 52.8 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a $5.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.53%.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,050.55, for a total value of $35,613,645.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 230,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $242,168,583.80. This trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,056.60, for a total transaction of $9,233,627.40. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 210,186 shares in the company, valued at $222,082,527.60. This represents a 3.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

More BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several BlackRock-managed closed-end funds announced monthly dividend declarations, including income, equity, sector, and technology funds. While these payouts are routine, they reinforce BlackRock’s broad product lineup and income-generating franchise. BlackRock Credit Allocation Income Trust declares $0.0839 dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore lowered its price target on BlackRock to $1,140 from $1,220, but kept an Outperform rating, implying the firm still sees upside from current levels. Evercore adjusts price target on BlackRock
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock was mentioned in coverage about the DTCC tokenization push alongside major financial firms, highlighting its role in market infrastructure and digital asset initiatives, but this is more strategic context than a near-term earnings driver. Ripple Prime Joins DTCC’s Tokenization Push Alongside BlackRock and JPMorgan
• Negative Sentiment: Cointelegraph reported that spot Bitcoin ETFs saw $1.7 billion in weekly outflows, with BlackRock’s IBIT accounting for most of the redemptions. That could weigh on sentiment around BlackRock’s rapidly growing ETF business if outflows continue. Spot Bitcoin ETFs bleed $1.7B as outflow streak hits four weeks

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.