Raiffeisen Bank International AG Raises Stake in BlackRock $BLK

Raiffeisen Bank International AG lifted its holdings in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 69.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,822 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,624 shares during the period. Raiffeisen Bank International AG’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $10,371,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,615,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 2nd quarter worth about $259,000. Freedom Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 7.3% in the second quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 529 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $556,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Blueprint LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 164.4% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 1,158 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,215,000 after purchasing an additional 720 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ValueAct (Morfit) announced a position in BlackRock and suggested the firm can become “more powerful” by leaning into technology—an activist investor endorsement that can be a catalyst for strategic change and a re-rating. ValueAct’s Morfit announces BlackRock position, says technology can make the company ‘more powerful’
• Positive Sentiment: An analyst price target was raised to $1,340, signaling bullish analyst sentiment that supports the stock’s upward momentum. BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Price Target Raised to $1,340.00
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock proposed combining two UK smaller‑company trusts (Throgmorton and Smaller Companies Trust); shareholders and an activist (Saba) have reacted favorably — the deal would create the largest growth‑focused trust in the UK smaller companies sector, which can boost AUM and stewardship fees. BlackRock Smaller Companies Trust jumps 4% on merger plan with Throgmorton
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory disclosures show BlackRock building stakes in other companies (WPP hitting a 10% voting threshold; a ~10.7% capital interest in Qiagen). These moves reflect portfolio positioning and potential engagement but are mixed for BLK’s stock direction. WPP Discloses BlackRock’s Voting Stake Reaching 10% on 18 February 2026 BlackRock Discloses 10.68% Capital Interest and 11.8% Voting Stake in Qiagen
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage and estimate pages refreshed this week show continued bullish long‑term outlooks even as BLK has underperformed recently—important context but not an immediate driver. BlackRock Stock: Analyst Estimates & Ratings
• Negative Sentiment: Crypto flow and trading activity tied to BlackRock’s crypto ETFs are a near-term headwind: Arkham data shows BlackRock moved about $270M in BTC/ETH to Coinbase as $2.4B in crypto options expire — this looks like selling pressure that can reduce AUM and fee momentum in crypto products. BlackRock Signals $270M Bitcoin, Ethereum Sell-Off as $2.4B in Crypto Options Expire
• Negative Sentiment: Reports show BlackRock has trimmed exposure to a Bitcoin proxy strategy and IBIT/Fbtc ETF flows/absorption that helped during prior selloffs are weakening — this increases volatility risk for BlackRock’s crypto product revenue. BlackRock trims stake in Bitcoin proxy Strategy but keeps top shareholder spot Bitcoin Bottom Call On Ice: Fear Is Extreme, Whales Aren’t Buying
• Negative Sentiment: Rosen Law Firm announced an investigation into potential breaches of fiduciary duties by BlackRock directors/officers—this raises governance/legal risk that can pressure sentiment until resolved. BLK Investor News: Rosen Law Firm Announces Investigation of Breaches of Fiduciary Duties by the Directors and Officers of BlackRock, Inc. – BLK

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BLK. Evercore reduced their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. CICC Research upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,514.00 to $1,550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded BlackRock from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,311.11.

BlackRock Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $1,093.57 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $1,093.67 and a 200-day moving average of $1,104.91. 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 firm has a market cap of $169.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.47. BlackRock has a twelve month low of $773.74 and a twelve 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, topping the consensus estimate of $12.55 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $6.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.80 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.14% and a net margin of 22.93%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $11.93 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.21. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 58.84%.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 20,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,125.00, for a total transaction of $22,500,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,630,750. The trade was a 24.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,190 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,087.29, for a total value of $58,920,245.10. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 51,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,971,514.62. The trade was a 51.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 109,967 shares of company stock worth $122,487,380. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

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.