GW&K Investment Management LLC Sells 579 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

GW&K Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,745 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 579 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $46,338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BLK. Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 450.0% in the third quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 22 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased 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 buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Traub Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new position in BlackRock in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 866.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 29 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 385 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,084.91, for a total value of $417,690.35. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,618,174.85. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 5,293 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,084.22, for a total value of $5,738,776.46. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 46,185 shares in the company, valued at $50,074,700.70. This represents a 10.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 111,319 shares of company stock worth $123,999,249 over the last ninety days. 1.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on BLK shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $1,351.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a report on Friday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $1,313.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Wall Street Zen raised BlackRock from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered BlackRock from a “moderate buy” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of BlackRock from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $1,280.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,311.11.

More BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock-led consortium to buy AES for $33.4B — BLK’s Global Infrastructure Partners is co-leading a large take-private of AES, a move that highlights BlackRock’s scale in fee-generating infrastructure deals and could support future fundraising and performance fees. BlackRock, EQT-led group to buy AES in $33.4-billion deal
• Positive Sentiment: New ETF expands product set — BlackRock launched the iShares Broad USD Floating Rate Loan ETF (USLN), giving index-based access to the $1.4T U.S. leveraged loan market; new ETF launches can drive incremental AUM and fees if they attract flows. BlackRock Expands Access to U.S. Leveraged Loan Market with Index ETF
• Positive Sentiment: Spot Bitcoin ETF inflows into IBIT — BlackRock’s IBIT posted meaningful daily inflows that helped offset outflows elsewhere in the Bitcoin ETF complex, underscoring investor demand for BlackRock’s crypto product and supporting ETF fee growth. US spot Bitcoin ETFs add $225M as BlackRock’s IBIT offsets redemptions
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock disclosed a >10%/11.56% stake in Qiagen — a sizable active holding that suggests opportunistic portfolio positioning but has limited direct impact on BLK’s earnings; watchers should note activist-style stakes can be resourced-intensive. BlackRock Lifts Stake in Qiagen to Over 10% of Capital
• Neutral Sentiment: Target-date funds are shifting to higher risk in mid-career — BlackRock says boosting equity risk between ages 45–60 could raise retirement outcomes; long-term product changes can influence flows over time but are not an immediate earnings driver. BlackRock’s target-date funds are about to get riskier. Here’s what you need to know.
• Neutral Sentiment: Portfolio reshuffle in energy/infrastructure — reports note BlackRock’s GIP led the AES bid while exiting Naturgy positions, signaling active repositioning that could improve returns but also implies transaction-related costs and capital redeployment. BlackRock Reshapes Power Exposure With AES Buyout And Naturgy Exit
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods — KBW cut BLK from “moderate buy” to “moderate sell,” which can pressure sentiment and trigger short-term selling by institutional investors. Zacks — KBW Downgrade Note
• Negative Sentiment: Sector and macro weakness — financial stocks retreated and rising Treasury yields/Geopolitical risk (Iran tensions) are weighing on asset managers broadly by pressuring markets and potential AUM growth. Market-driven flow risk is a key short-term headwind for BLK. Sector Update: Financial Stocks Retreat Late Afternoon

BlackRock Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of BLK stock opened at $1,049.46 on Thursday. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $773.74 and a fifty-two week high of $1,219.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.82 billion, a PE ratio of 29.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,093.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,101.15.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $13.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.55 by $0.61. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.78% and a net margin of 22.93%.The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $11.93 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $5.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.21. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.84%.

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.