BlackRock $BLK Shares Sold by Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lowered its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 1.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,244 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 463 shares during the period. BlackRock comprises 1.3% of Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $41,090,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted 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 worth $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 7.0% during the second quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 305 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock by 6.5% in the second quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 869 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $912,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lewis Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the second quarter valued at $286,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer highlighted BlackRock favorably on TV, a short-term retail/investor sentiment boost that can support the stock. “Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner,” Says Jim Cramer About BlackRock (BLK)
• Positive Sentiment: Delaware Life will use BlackRock’s iShares ETFs (including the iShares Bitcoin Trust) inside a new annuity index — a distribution win that can expand AUM and fee revenues over time. Delaware Life Adds Bitcoin Exposure to Fixed Annuity via BlackRock
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock disclosed an increase in its voting stake in Siemens Energy to just over 8% — indicative of active, large-cap equity allocations that reflect use of capital and engagement. Institutional stake-building can be viewed positively by investors. BlackRock Raises Voting Stake in Siemens Energy to Just Over 8%
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock Canada announced January cash distributions for many iShares ETFs — regular distributions reinforce the firm’s ETF cash-flow profile and support investor confidence in iShares product demand. BlackRock® Canada Announces January Cash Distributions for the iShares® ETFs
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock executives had a visible presence at Davos (Hildebrand interview; Larry Fink comments). Leadership commentary shapes long-term narrative but doesn’t produce immediate revenue changes. Davos: BlackRock’s Hildebrand on Geopolitics, Europe’s Role, AI BlackRock’s billionaire CEO warns AI could be capitalism’s next big failure…
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory/appointments chatter: reports name BlackRock’s Rick Rieder among finalists for Fed chair — a reputational/regulatory story that could carry strategic implications but is uncertain in timing and effect. BlackRock’s Rick Rieder Reportedly Among Final Contenders For Fed Chair Role
• Neutral Sentiment: Disclosure notices (Caledonia Mining, Orion Corporation) report BlackRock crossing shareholding thresholds in multiple firms — these are routine regulatory filings that signal portfolio activity but don’t directly change BLK fundamentals. Caledonia Mining Reports BlackRock Stake Increase Above AIM Disclosure Threshold Orion Corporation: Disclosure Under Chapter 9 Section 10…
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. Bitcoin ETFs saw large daily net outflows (~$488M), including notable outflows from BlackRock’s IBIT (~$56.9M) and Fidelity’s FBTC — ETF outflows reduce AUM and management fees if sustained. Bitcoin ETFs Log Off $488.38M as GBTC by Grayscale Takes the Lead
• Negative Sentiment: Crypto rumor: claims that BlackRock made a billion-dollar XRP purchase circulated — if true, large crypto bets could raise volatility and regulatory/PR scrutiny; the story remains unverified and could create short-term uncertainty. Did BlackRock Make A Billion-Dollar XRP Bet? Here’s The Real Tea

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BlackRock news, CFO Martin Small sold 1,258 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,043.38, for a total transaction of $1,312,572.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 6,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,478,346.42. This trade represents a 16.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Down 4.6%

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $1,109.75 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $172.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.47. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $1,073.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,106.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 3.33 and a quick ratio of 3.33. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $773.74 and a 1-year high of $1,219.94.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $13.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.55 by $0.61. BlackRock had a net margin of 22.93% and a return on equity of 15.14%. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $11.93 earnings per share. BlackRock’s quarterly revenue was up 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $5.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.21. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,310.00 to $1,340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Cowen downgraded BlackRock from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,296.00 to $1,380.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of BlackRock from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,314.71.

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.