Xponance Inc. Sells 949 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Xponance Inc. decreased its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 4.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 20,997 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 949 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $24,480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. DNB Asset Management AS raised its position in BlackRock by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 29,089 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $33,914,000 after buying an additional 1,068 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,489 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $26,219,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC increased its position in BlackRock by 31.9% during the third quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 505 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $589,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in BlackRock by 94.1% in the third quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 301,282 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $351,256,000 after purchasing an additional 10,797 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 5,293 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,084.22, for a total value of $5,738,776.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 46,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,074,700.70. This trade represents a 10.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen Cohen sold 225 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,069.56, for a total value of $240,651.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,661 shares in the company, valued at $6,054,779.16. The trade was a 3.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 112,577 shares of company stock valued at $125,311,821 over the last quarter. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

BlackRock Price Performance

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

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $13.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $11.93 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $5.73 dividend. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. BlackRock’s payout ratio is presently 58.84%.

BlackRock News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Large spot Bitcoin ETF inflows — US spot Bitcoin ETFs including BlackRock’s IBIT pulled in heavy net flows (about $1B over three days), suggesting continued demand for BlackRock’s crypto ETF franchise and potential fee growth if flows persist. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Middle‑office scale deal with Citi — BlackRock appointed Citi to provide select middle‑office services for roughly $4T of U.S. iShares ETFs on Aladdin, a move that should improve processing efficiency and support ETF distribution. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and optimism on evolving profit mix — recent coverage highlights UBS and other firms lifting ratings/targets as BlackRock expands alternatives, digital assets and ETF tech (supports longer‑term earnings upside). Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic investments into DeFi/AI ecosystems — participation in DeFi infrastructure deals and AI chip funding signals diversification into higher‑growth areas that could boost future fee pools. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Debate over Bitcoin market microstructure — public pushback against claims that a single market maker (Jane Street) is manipulating daily BTC moves reduces single‑counterparty risk concerns for BlackRock’s IBIT, but overall crypto volatility remains a flow driver. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Fund and trust reorganization news — smaller‑company trust merger and a marginal stake change in BAWAG are operational updates with limited direct impact on BLK’s core results. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 profit and cash‑flow weakness — third‑party summaries show revenue rose but operating profit, net income and EPS fell materially YoY, with operating cash flow down—raising near‑term margin and profitability concerns. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Operational/reputational hit from a $430M loan fraud — reporting that BlackRock was duped into a $430M loan tied to alleged fake invoices creates risk around underwriting controls and could pressure sentiment until clarified. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing insider selling — recent director and senior‑manager share sales (disclosed Form 4s) are being watched by investors and can weigh on sentiment even if they reflect routine liquidity or option exercises. Read More.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLK has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,313.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,310.00 to $1,340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,456.00 to $1,464.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of BlackRock from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,311.11.

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.