514 BlackRock $BLK Shares Sold by First Merchants Corp

First Merchants Corp cut its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 4.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 10,648 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 514 shares during the quarter. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $11,269,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BLK. Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the 2nd quarter valued at $129,138,253,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 2nd quarter worth $9,747,857,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in BlackRock by 5,190.3% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,490,422 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,876,618,000 after purchasing an additional 5,386,640 shares during the last quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd grew its position in BlackRock by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 5,330,492 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,126,387,000 after purchasing an additional 237,667 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in BlackRock by 0.7% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,232,973 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,032,603,000 after purchasing an additional 35,069 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $1,123.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 3.59 and a quick ratio of 3.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $1,106.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,062.35. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $917.39 and a 1-year high of $1,209.89. The company has a market cap of $173.97 billion, a PE ratio of 25.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.41.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 14th. The asset manager reported $15.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $14.32 by $1.61. The firm had revenue of $7.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.42 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.22% and a return on equity of 16.08%. BlackRock’s quarterly revenue was up 19.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $8.43 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 55.70 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th were paid a $5.73 dividend. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 8th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.11%.

Key Headlines Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong Q3 beat: BlackRock reported adjusted EPS of $15.93, above the $14.32 consensus, while revenue rose 19.1% year over year to $7.75 billion, ahead of the $7.42 billion estimate. BlackRock Q3 earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Record inflows and AUM: The firm attracted approximately $205 billion in quarterly net inflows, helping assets under management reach about $15.5 trillion. Strong demand for iShares ETFs, fixed-income products and private-market strategies supports recurring fee growth. BlackRock Q3 profit rises on inflows
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised targets: JPMorgan lifted its price target to $1,449 with an overweight rating, while Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its target to $1,310 and maintained an outperform rating. Bank of America also reiterated a buy rating and raised its target to $1,313. Analysts raise BlackRock forecasts
• Positive Sentiment: Growth initiatives: Management highlighted AI infrastructure financing, technology revenue, margin expansion and fundraising in private markets as potential drivers of future growth, including a developing opportunity in the compute market. BlackRock earnings call on AI financing
• Neutral Sentiment: Crypto exposure remains mixed: BlackRock’s crypto ETF assets reportedly increased sharply during the quarter, but bitcoin and ether ETFs subsequently recorded roughly $391 million in combined one-day outflows, creating near-term sentiment risk. Bitcoin and Ether ETF flows
• Negative Sentiment: Macro and execution risks: CEO Larry Fink warned that halting data-center construction could damage growth and trigger a recession. BlackRock is also reducing U.S. stock exposure in favor of Treasuries, while UBS expects the firm to exit several 2030 targets early—potentially signaling that some long-term goals may be difficult to achieve. Larry Fink data-center warning

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on BLK shares. Zacks Research cut shares of BlackRock from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,230.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,277.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,275.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $1,258.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,312.06.

BlackRock Company Profile

BlackRock, Inc is a global investment management and financial technology company serving individual investors, institutions, governments and financial professionals. The company provides investment management, risk management and advisory services across a broad range of asset classes, including equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies, alternatives and cash management.

BlackRock offers investment products through mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and other vehicles. Its iShares brand is one of the company’s principal platforms for exchange-traded funds, providing access to domestic and international markets, industry sectors, bonds, commodities and specialized investment strategies.

The company also provides technology and analytical solutions through its Aladdin platform, which is used by asset managers, institutional investors and other financial organizations for portfolio management, risk analysis, trading and operational support.