Whittier Trust Co. Trims Holdings in BlackRock $BLK

Whittier Trust Co. decreased its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 5.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,752 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 670 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $11,275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 5,190.3% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,490,422 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,876,618,000 after buying an additional 5,386,640 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,742,680,000. Oak Harvest Investment Services increased its holdings in BlackRock by 12,176.1% during the 4th quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 1,595,153 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,707,356,000 after acquiring an additional 1,582,159 shares during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its holdings in BlackRock by 106,934.0% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 1,284,408 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $128,441,000 after acquiring an additional 1,283,208 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in BlackRock by 200.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,451,122 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,553,194,000 after purchasing an additional 968,245 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,056.60, for a total transaction of $9,233,627.40. Following the sale, the president owned 210,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $222,082,527.60. The trade was a 3.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,050.55, for a total transaction of $35,613,645.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 230,516 shares in the company, valued at $242,168,583.80. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.92% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE BLK traded down $3.81 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $1,007.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 97,615 shares, compared to its average volume of 797,191. BlackRock has a 12 month low of $917.39 and a 12 month high of $1,219.94. The stock has a market cap of $156.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a current ratio of 4.09. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,038.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,045.71.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $12.40 by $0.13. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.40% and a return on equity of 14.74%. The business had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $9.64 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 53.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a $5.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is 57.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on BLK. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,393.00 to $1,430.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on BlackRock from $1,269.00 to $1,128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 13th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,235.00 to $1,270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,351.00 to $1,199.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,181.00 to $1,313.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,269.44.

Key Headlines Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock announced plans to launch the iShares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ticker IQQ), giving investors low-cost exposure to the Nasdaq-100 and expanding BLK’s lineup in a fast-growing, AI-driven segment of the market. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The new Nasdaq-100 ETF launch could attract assets from investors seeking broad tech and innovation exposure, potentially boosting BlackRock’s fee income and strengthening its position against rivals like Invesco and State Street. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF, IBIT, recorded its first inflow in weeks, signaling renewed investor interest in crypto-linked products after a period of weak or negative flows. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock and Standard Chartered also launched a new Asia-Pacific-focused multi-asset fund, which adds to BLK’s global product footprint but is unlikely to move the stock on its own. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage highlighted intensifying fee competition in index funds, noting that BlackRock’s low-cost Nasdaq-100 ETF could pressure margins even if it helps drive asset gathering. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Broader crypto ETF commentary remains cautious, with one report saying U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw large June outflows, which could temper enthusiasm for BLK’s digital-asset product line despite the latest inflow. Article Title

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.