ProShare Advisors LLC Sells 3,448 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

ProShare Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 10.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 28,818 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 3,448 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $33,598,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BLK. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. increased its holdings in BlackRock by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 340 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $357,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the period. CNB Bank boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 103 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the period. Magellan Asset Management Ltd grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 72 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.1% in the second quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 817 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $857,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the period. Finally, First Financial Bank Trust Division increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 0.5% in the third quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 1,794 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,092,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on BLK. Wall Street Zen raised BlackRock from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Loop Capital set a $1,255.00 price objective on BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,310.00 to $1,340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,514.00 to $1,550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,311.11.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $1,086.77 on Wednesday. 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 50-day moving average price of $1,093.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,106.67. The company has a market cap of $168.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $13.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $12.55 by $0.61. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.14% and a net margin of 22.93%.The firm had revenue of $6.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $11.93 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director owned 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,630,750. This represents a 24.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Martin Small sold 27,047 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The shares were 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 owned 10,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,363,724.98. The trade was a 71.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 48,305 shares of company stock valued at $55,488,396 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock raised its annual dividend ~10% (from $5.21 to $5.73), payable March 24 to holders of record March 6 — this boosts yield and signals capital-return confidence. BlackRock Dividend Increase
• Positive Sentiment: A Texas judge struck down a state law that would have blacklisted firms using ESG criteria (naming BlackRock), a ruling that eases regulatory pressure on ESG-focused asset managers and could limit similar anti-ESG measures in other states. Rejection of Texas law…
• Positive Sentiment: Reports continue to show strong institutional flows into spot Bitcoin ETFs, a trend that benefits BlackRock via IBIT and supports fee-based AUM growth and recurring revenue. (Coverage cites ETF inflows and related market mechanics that favor issuers like BlackRock.) Bitcoin ETFs Extend Inflow Streak…
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock presented at the Bank of America Financial Services Conference; the transcript provides management commentary on strategy, flows and market outlook — useful for modeling AUM and fees but not a single catalyst. BlackRock Presents at Bank of America…
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory filings show portfolio moves (ceased to be substantial in SiteMinder; trimmed stake in BAWAG; sub‑5% holdings disclosed in Stora Enso). These are routine institutional rebalancings with limited material impact on BLK fundamentals. BlackRock Ceases to Be Substantial Holder in SiteMinder
• Negative Sentiment: Investors filed a lawsuit alleging BlackRock executives colluded on climate-related matters; new litigation increases legal uncertainty and headline risk that can pressure the stock if it escalates. BlackRock execs hit with investor lawsuit…
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest rose ~21.9% in January to ~1.50M shares (≈1.0% of float), increasing potential downside pressure and signaling some investors are positioning for near-term weakness; short-interest ratio about 2 days. (No article link provided.)

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.