BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Director Stephen Cohen Sells 225 Shares of Stock

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Director Stephen Cohen sold 225 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,069.56, for a total transaction of $240,651.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,054,779.16. This represents a 3.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Stephen Cohen also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, February 11th, Stephen Cohen sold 2,179 shares of BlackRock stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,073.87, for a total transaction of $2,339,962.73.

BlackRock Trading Down 1.5%

NYSE:BLK traded down $16.72 on Thursday, hitting $1,077.06. 132,543 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 776,437. The stock has a market cap of $167.11 billion, a PE ratio of 30.42, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.47. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $773.74 and a fifty-two week high of $1,219.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $1,094.29 and a 200-day moving average of $1,104.10. The company has a current ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $13.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $12.55 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.80 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 22.93% and a return on equity of 15.14%. The company’s revenue was up 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $11.93 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.21. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on BLK. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. TD Cowen cut BlackRock from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of BlackRock from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,311.11.

Trending Headlines about BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock named Citi to provide select middle‑office services for roughly $4.0 trillion of U.S. iShares ETFs on the Aladdin platform — a scale deal that should improve ETF processing, distribution efficiency and could help drive ETF inflows. BlackRock Appoints Citi to Provide Select ETF Middle Office Services on Aladdin
• Positive Sentiment: US spot Bitcoin ETFs saw a large daily inflow (~$258M) with Fidelity and BlackRock leading gains — positive for BlackRock’s IBIT/crypto ETF franchise and fee revenues if flows continue. Bitcoin ETFs post $258M inflows as institutional Q4 selling hits 25,000 BTC
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock appears active in crypto/DeFi and AI ecosystems — coverage notes BlackRock took stakes alongside Apollo and ParaFi in DeFi infrastructure (supporting on‑chain growth) and participated in a $250M funding round for European AI chipmaker Axelera, highlighting strategic diversification. 3 Altcoins Rally After Wall Street Giants Buy Into DeFi Infrastructure European AI chip startup Axelera raises additional $250 million
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent analyst commentary highlights that BLK has lagged the S&P over the past year despite continued analyst conviction — suggests valuation and earnings growth expectations are in focus. Is BlackRock Stock Underperforming the S&P 500?
• Neutral Sentiment: Claims that Jane Street programs cause a daily 10:00am Bitcoin dip were publicly disputed by analysts — relevant because Jane Street’s trading in IBIT had been suggested as a market‑moving factor, but experts say BTC moves reflect broader risk repricing, not single‑firm manipulation. Analysts reject Jane Street ‘10 am dump’ claims, say Bitcoin isn’t easily manipulated
• Neutral Sentiment: A class action reminder was filed around BlackRock TCP Capital (TCPC) — this pertains to the externally‑managed BDC and is less likely to move BLK’s core asset management business but adds legal noise. INVESTOR ALERT: Pomerantz Law Firm Reminds Investors… TCPC
• Negative Sentiment: Third‑party reports show BLK’s Q4 revenue rose but operating profit, net income and EPS fell sharply YoY — margin pressure and weaker cash flow raise near‑term profitability concerns. BlackRock Inc. Releases Q4 2025 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of a $430M loan to a telecom entrepreneur involving fake invoices that duped BlackRock raise operational and reputational risk around credit and underwriting controls. BlackRock duped into loaning $430M to telecom entrepreneur who allegedly faked invoices
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing insider selling activity (multiple senior managers have sold shares recently) is being tracked by investors and can weigh on sentiment even if sales are standard option/liquidity events. BlackRock Inc. Releases Q4 2025 Earnings (insider section)

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackRock

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BLK. Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 450.0% in the third quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 22 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 22 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Traub Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in BlackRock by 107.1% in the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 29 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.