BlackRock $BLK Shares Sold by Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. cut its holdings in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 93.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 319 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 4,218 shares during the period. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $371,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 2nd quarter worth $2,644,007,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,704,280 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 842,901 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its stake in BlackRock by 1,962.0% during the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 792,494 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $831,524,000 after buying an additional 754,060 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in BlackRock by 29,043.2% during the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 245,094 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $285,748,000 after buying an additional 244,253 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rick Rieder, BlackRock’s CIO of Global Fixed Income, is being talked about as a frontrunner for U.S. Federal Reserve chair after public praise from President Trump — a nomination would raise BlackRock’s influence on policy and could benefit business lines sensitive to rates and Fed guidance. BlackRock’s Rick Rieder surges ahead in race to chair Federal Reserve
• Positive Sentiment: CEO Larry Fink’s Davos push for rapid tokenization and a “common blockchain” reinforces BlackRock’s product roadmap (e.g., BUIDL money-market token on Ethereum with >$2B TVL), supporting potential new fee-bearing AUM and competitive crypto custody flows. Ethereum Emerges As Likely Candidate In BlackRock Tokenization Vision – Here’s Why
• Positive Sentiment: On-chain activity consistent with institutional crypto adoption: BlackRock-linked wallets transferred large amounts of bitcoin and ether into Coinbase Prime, signaling operational movement toward custody and trading channels for crypto products. This supports potential inflows to related ETFs and products over time. BlackRock-linked wallets move over $430 million in bitcoin, ether to Coinbase Prime
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock increased its stake in AngloGold Ashanti to just over 10% — a material equity position that signals active portfolio deployment and could deliver strategic or performance upside in commodities exposure. BlackRock Lifts Stake in AngloGold Ashanti to Just Over 10%
• Neutral Sentiment: Larry Fink’s broader Davos commentary (AI, inequality and markets) sets strategic narrative for the firm but is more about reputation and long-term positioning than an immediate earnings catalyst. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink: ‘What Happens to Everyone Else’ If AI Fuels Inequality?
• Neutral Sentiment: Routine portfolio disclosures: BlackRock adjusted holdings (e.g., BAWAG voting rights), reflecting normal active positioning rather than a direct AUM driver. Investors should treat these as portfolio-management signals. BlackRock Adjusts Stake in BAWAG Group to 5.83% of Voting Rights
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CFO Martin Small sold ~27,000 shares (~$31.7M) in mid-January; while insider sales aren’t uncommon, the size of the transaction can spook short-term investors. SEC Form 4 — Martin Small sale
• Negative Sentiment: Short-term headwinds in crypto products: U.S. bitcoin ETFs posted net outflows recently, a drag on fee revenue tied to IBIT and other crypto strategies. Bitcoin ETFs Log Off — Outflows
• Negative Sentiment: Unconfirmed reports of a large BlackRock XRP purchase circulated in crypto media — a speculative noise item that could invite regulatory scrutiny or investor overreaction until verified. Unverified BlackRock XRP purchase reports

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on BlackRock from $1,296.00 to $1,380.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. TD Cowen cut BlackRock from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. UBS Group set a $1,280.00 target price on BlackRock in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Argus raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,165.00 to $1,330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,314.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,125.00, for a total value of $22,500,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,630,750. This trade represents a 24.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Martin Small sold 27,047 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,363,724.98. This trade represents a 71.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 48,305 shares of company stock worth $55,488,396. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE:BLK opened at $1,130.09 on Friday. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $773.74 and a 12-month high of $1,219.94. The firm has a market cap of $175.33 billion, a PE ratio of 31.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.47. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $1,077.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,107.10.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $13.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.55 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $6.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.80 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.14% and a net margin of 22.93%.BlackRock’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $11.93 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $5.73 per share. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.21. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.84%.

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.