Strs Ohio Trims Stake in BlackRock $BLK

Strs Ohio cut its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,465 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 3,401 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $51,840,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Westerkirk Capital Inc. purchased a new position in BlackRock during the second quarter valued at $2,877,000. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 7.9% during the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 23,167 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $24,308,000 after acquiring an additional 1,693 shares in the last quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in BlackRock in the 3rd quarter worth about $6,201,000. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in BlackRock by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 256,937 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $269,591,000 after purchasing an additional 19,404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Liberty One Investment Management LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 29.3% during the 3rd quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 6,748 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $7,867,000 after purchasing an additional 1,529 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on BLK. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,456.00 to $1,464.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on BlackRock from $1,514.00 to $1,550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Barclays lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,314.71.

BlackRock Stock Up 1.0%

BLK stock opened at $1,139.45 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $1,076.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,106.51. The stock has a market cap of $176.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.17, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 3.33, a current ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. BlackRock has a twelve month low of $773.74 and a twelve month high of $1,219.94.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.80 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 22.93% and a return on equity of 15.14%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $11.93 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $5.73 dividend. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.84%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Martin Small sold 27,047 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,171.14, for a total transaction of $31,675,823.58. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 10,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,363,724.98. This trade represents a 71.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Larry Fink warned at Davos that AI could widen inequality but used the platform to push for shared benefits and tokenization — reinforcing BlackRock’s role as a market leader and steward of large institutional flows. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink: ‘What Happens to Everyone Else’ If AI Fuels Inequality?
• Positive Sentiment: Fink told reporters he doesn’t see an AI bubble, signaling confidence in continued, sustainable AI investment — a bullish signal for BlackRock’s AI?oriented strategies and tech exposure. BlackRock’s Fink Not Worried About a Bubble Forming in AI
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock continues to push tokenization and blockchain as market plumbing (BUIDL money?market tokenization cited with >$2B locked) — accelerates a potential new AUM/fees channel if adoption broadens. World Economic Forum: BlackRock’s CEO Calls for Tokenization and Blockchain Adoption
• Positive Sentiment: On?chain activity tied to BlackRock moved ~ $430M of BTC/ETH to Coinbase Prime — indicative of institutional custody/capital flows that support BlackRock’s crypto product ecosystem. BlackRock-linked wallets move over $430 million in bitcoin, ether to Coinbase Prime
• Positive Sentiment: Rick Rieder’s name gaining traction as a potential Fed chair candidate raised market attention to BlackRock’s policy influence — could be seen as a governance/relationship positive for the firm. Rieder odds rising for Fed chair after Trump calls BlackRock executive ‘very impressive’
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock adjusted disclosed stakes in several public companies (e.g., BAWAG) — shows active portfolio positioning but not an immediate AUM/earnings driver. BlackRock Adjusts Stake in BAWAG Group to 5.83% of Voting Rights
• Neutral Sentiment: Vice Chairman Philipp Hildebrand’s Davos remarks on geopolitics and AI are informative for strategy/positioning but are not an immediate financial catalyst. Davos: BlackRock’s Hildebrand on Geopolitics, Europe’s Role, AI
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. Bitcoin ETFs saw net outflows on the day (including BlackRock’s IBIT) — a near?term headwind to crypto?AUM and fee revenue. Bitcoin ETFs Log Off $488.38M as GBTC by Grayscale Takes the Lead
• Negative Sentiment: CFO Martin Small disclosed a sale of 27,047 shares (~$31.7M) — insider selling can trigger short?term concern among some investors even if routine. SEC Form 4 — Martin Small sale

About BlackRock

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.