Hohimer Wealth Management LLC Sells 1,156 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Hohimer Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,986 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,156 shares during the quarter. BlackRock makes up 0.8% of Hohimer Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $5,813,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BLK. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in BlackRock by 1.7% in 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 position in shares of BlackRock by 1.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,143,429 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,281,641,000 after acquiring an additional 34,049 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in BlackRock in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,644,007,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in BlackRock by 72.5% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,005,358 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,104,122,000 after acquiring an additional 842,901 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in BlackRock by 105,267.4% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,705,899 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,789,915,000 after acquiring an additional 1,704,280 shares in the last quarter. 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: Large operational partnership — BlackRock tapped Citi to provide middle‑office services for roughly $4.0T of U.S. iShares ETFs on Aladdin, which should improve ETF processing, distribution efficiency and could support future inflows. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Crypto ETF momentum — US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a large daily inflow (~$258M) with BlackRock among leaders; sustained flows into IBIT/crypto ETFs would lift fee revenue and reinforce BlackRock’s ETF franchise. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic investments — BlackRock is active in DeFi and AI ecosystems (stake activity with DeFi infrastructure deals and participation in AI chip funding), underscoring diversification into growth themes beyond core asset management. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate actions and holdings updates — BlackRock marginally reduced its stake in BAWAG Group; smaller‑company trusts announced a merger to cut costs and boost scale (operative for subsidiaries/closed‑end trusts, not BLK’s core P&L). Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary — Analysts dispute claims that a single trading firm (Jane Street) systematically moves Bitcoin via IBIT-related flows; markets view BTC moves as broader risk repricing rather than firm manipulation. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability and cash‑flow pressure — Q4 showed revenue growth (~23%) but sharp declines in operating profit, net income and EPS and weaker operating cash flow, increasing near‑term margin concerns. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Operational/reputational risk — Reporting that BlackRock was duped into a $430M telecom loan involving alleged fake invoices raises questions about credit underwriting and controls. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — Multiple senior BlackRock executives and directors (recent Form 4 filings) have sold shares in the past days/weeks; continued insider sales can pressure sentiment even if motivated by routine liquidity. Read More. • Read More.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BLK opened at $1,089.89 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $1,094.81 and its 200 day moving average is $1,104.00. The company has a current ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market cap of $169.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.77, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.47. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $773.74 and a 12-month high of $1,219.94.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $13.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 22.93% and a return on equity of 15.14%. The firm’s revenue was up 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $11.93 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $5.73 per share. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.21. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BLK. Evercore decreased their price target on BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $1,313.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,244.00 to $1,267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,311.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BlackRock news, CFO Martin Small sold 27,047 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 71.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen Cohen sold 2,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,073.87, for a total value of $2,339,962.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,543 shares in the company, valued at $7,026,331.41. This trade represents a 24.98% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 112,577 shares of company stock valued at $125,311,821 over the last three months. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.