BlackRock $BLK Shares Acquired by MAI Capital Management

MAI Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 17.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,411 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 4,387 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $34,289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in BlackRock by 1.7% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,991,264 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $14,680,334,000 after purchasing an additional 227,192 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,143,429 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,281,641,000 after buying an additional 34,049 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the second quarter valued at about $2,644,007,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 72.5% during the 2nd 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 period. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in BlackRock by 105,267.4% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,705,899 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,789,915,000 after acquiring an additional 1,704,280 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $1,313.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,310.00 to $1,340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,296.00 to $1,380.00 in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,456.00 to $1,464.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,311.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BlackRock news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 5,293 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,084.22, for a total transaction of $5,738,776.46. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 46,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,074,700.70. The trade was a 10.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen Cohen sold 2,179 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,073.87, for a total transaction of $2,339,962.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,026,331.41. This represents a 24.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 109,967 shares of company stock valued at $122,487,380 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS upgraded BlackRock, which can lift sentiment and trigger buy-side flows into the stock. UBS Upgrades BlackRock
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock is among shortlisted investors in early talks for Kuwait Petroleum’s potential $7B pipeline stake — a large infrastructure allocation that could mean meaningful fee-bearing AUM or co-invest opportunities. Kuwait pipeline deal interest
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock participated in a $250M financing for Dutch AI‑chip maker Axelera AI — signaling direct exposure to AI hardware/venture deals and diversification into growth private investments. This bolsters narrative that BlackRock is positioning into AI-related alternatives. Axelera raises $250M (BlackRock investor)
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s CIO for fixed income, Rick Rieder, outlined opportunities in parts of the bond market and cautioned that not all Treasurys are reliable—highlighting active portfolio positioning that can attract flows into BlackRock’s fixed‑income strategies. Rieder on bond positioning
• Neutral Sentiment: Speculation persists about when BlackRock might file a U.S. spot XRP ETF (some insiders eye late‑2026). A filing would be a long‑term AUM catalyst but is not imminent. When will BlackRock file an XRP ETF?
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock Canada announced final February cash distributions for an iShares Premium Money Market ETF—routine fund operations with limited direct impact on BLK equity. BlackRock Canada distributions
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory/portfolio note: BlackRock slightly increased a major stake in BAWAG Group — a portfolio move that signals active equity positioning but is unlikely to move BLK stock materially on its own. BlackRock increases BAWAG stake
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz filed a class action related to BlackRock TCP Capital Corp. (TCPC). While this targets the BDC and not BlackRock Inc. directly, it introduces legal/reputational noise around a BlackRock‑managed vehicle. Pomerantz class action on TCPC

BlackRock Stock Performance

BLK stock opened at $1,081.80 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,093.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,104.16. 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 $167.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 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.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $13.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $12.55 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $6.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.80 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 22.93% and a return on equity of 15.14%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $11.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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. Investors 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 is Friday, March 6th. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.21. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.84%.

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.