BlackRock $BLK Shares Sold by MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB

MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB cut its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,729 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 743 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $18,976,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its stake in BlackRock by 450.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 22 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 1,000.0% in the third 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 period. Traub Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 866.7% in the third quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 29 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BLK. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,290.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Freedom Capital raised BlackRock from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. CICC Research increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,244.00 to $1,267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $1,313.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,308.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stephen Cohen sold 225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,069.56, for a total transaction of $240,651.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Martin Small sold 27,047 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,171.14, for a total value of $31,675,823.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,363,724.98. The trade was a 71.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 111,319 shares of company stock valued at $123,999,249 in the last three months. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Trending Headlines about BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock-backed staked-ETH product and related ETF flows are drawing institutional interest, which can boost fee-bearing AUM and revenue over time. Ethereum (ETH) Price Analysis: Can $385M ETF Inflows Spark a Major Rally?
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock Canada announced March cash distributions for many iShares ETFs — a sign of ongoing product cash flows and client engagement in Canada that supports predictable ETF income and retention. BlackRock® Canada Announces March Cash Distributions for the iShares® ETFs
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock CIO Rick Rieder publicly backed the Fed’s “patience” on rates and called recent energy-driven inflation spikes “episodic,” messaging that could calm investors and support risk assets (beneficial for asset managers’ flows). BlackRock’s Rick Rieder says Fed ‘patience’ is right call despite $820 billion market rout, oil spike
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory/ownership disclosure: BlackRock’s stake in Finnish drugmaker Orion dropped below 5% — a routine portfolio move that has limited direct impact on BLK but is a public holdings change. Orion Corporation: Disclosure Under Chapter 9 Section 10 of the Securities Market Act (BlackRock, Inc.)
• Neutral Sentiment: World Economic Forum governance changes under discussion could consolidate influence among trustees, including BlackRock CEO Larry Fink — reputational/governance risk to monitor but uncertain financial impact. World Economic Forum explores trustee shake-up after scandals
• Neutral Sentiment: Larry Fink’s comments warning AI could worsen unemployment for new graduates reinforce BlackRock’s leadership role in policy debates—important for reputation but not an immediate earnings driver. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink warns AI is creating a ‘crisis’ for Gen Z workers
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz launched an investor investigation into BlackRock, which raises potential litigation risk and can increase short-term share-price pressure due to uncertainty and legal costs. INVESTOR ALERT: Pomerantz Law Firm Investigates Claims On Behalf of Investors of BlackRock, Inc. – BLK

BlackRock Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE BLK opened at $958.10 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.48. BlackRock has a 52-week low of $773.74 and a 52-week high of $1,219.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $1,062.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,086.96.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced 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 14.78% and a net margin of 22.93%.The company had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $11.93 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.21. BlackRock’s payout ratio is 64.71%.

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.