BlackRock $BLK Shares Bought by Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.

Key Points

• Crossmark Global Holdings raised its BlackRock stake 16.4% in Q3 to 9,323 shares, worth about $10.87 million.
• Insider selling was substantial: CFO Martin Small sold 27,047 shares for roughly $31.68 million, and insiders sold 111,319 shares (~$124.0 million) in the last quarter, leaving insiders with 1.98% ownership.
• Financials and payout — BlackRock beat Q results with $13.16 EPS on $7.01 billion revenue and increased its quarterly dividend to $5.73 (annualized $22.92; ex-dividend March 6), while analysts retain a consensus "Moderate Buy" and a ~$1,311 price target.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 9,323 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 1,313 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $10,869,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Magellan Asset Management Ltd increased its position in BlackRock by 14.3% during the second quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 72 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the period. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.1% in the second quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 817 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $857,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the period. First Financial Bank Trust Division grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 0.5% during the third quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 1,794 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,092,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 1,444 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,683,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the period. Finally, PUREfi Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. PUREfi Wealth LLC now owns 460 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $536,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, CFO Martin Small sold 27,047 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,171.14, for a total transaction of $31,675,823.58. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,363,724.98. This represents a 71.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Stephen Cohen sold 2,179 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,073.87, for a total transaction of $2,339,962.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,026,331.41. This trade represents a 24.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 111,319 shares of company stock valued at $123,999,249. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $1,032.31 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock's 50 day moving average is $1,091.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,100.67. BlackRock has a twelve month low of $773.74 and a twelve month high of $1,219.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.16 billion, a PE ratio of 29.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.48.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $13.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $12.55 by $0.61. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.78% and a net margin of 22.93%.The business had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.80 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $11.93 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $5.73 per share. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This is an increase from BlackRock's previous quarterly dividend of $5.21. BlackRock's payout ratio is presently 58.84%.

BlackRock News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong Bitcoin ETF inflows into BlackRock’s IBIT continue to drive AUM and fee momentum—IBIT led with $307M of inflows as spot-Bitcoin ETFs posted multi-day inflow streaks. Bitcoin ETFs pull in $462M
• Positive Sentiment: Product expansion: BlackRock launched the iShares Broad USD Floating Rate Loan ETF (USLN), opening index-based access to the $1.4T U.S. leveraged loan market—adds a new ETF revenue stream and distribution opportunity. BlackRock Launches USLN ETF
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock is expanding its $52B iShares iBonds ETF franchise with nine new defined-maturity bond ETFs—helps capture fixed-income flows and bond-laddering demand. BlackRock Announces Plans to Expand iBonds
• Positive Sentiment: Aladdin win: Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo will extend use of BlackRock’s Aladdin Wealth for its international banks unit—an institutional tech deal that supports recurring licensing revenue and market penetration. Intesa Sanpaolo to adopt Aladdin Wealth
• Neutral Sentiment: Private markets repositioning: BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners is leading a consortium to buy AES for $33.4B while exiting Naturgy—strategic reshaping of energy/infrastructure exposure that may affect future private-asset earnings but has timing and execution risk. BlackRock-led group to buy AES
• Neutral Sentiment: Shareholdings updates: BlackRock disclosed stakes rising in OMV and Qiagen (crossed thresholds)—notable for proxy/activist watchers but unclear immediate earnings impact. BlackRock Lifts Stake in OMV BlackRock Lifts Stake in Qiagen
• Negative Sentiment: Private-credit write-down: BlackRock took a sudden mark on a loan tied to an Amazon aggregator, reviving transparency and valuation concerns in the private-credit market and raising near-term earnings/AUM volatility worries. BlackRock Write-Down Jolts Private Credit Markets
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut BlackRock from “moderate buy” to “moderate sell,” which can pressure sentiment and short-term flows even as fundamentals remain mixed. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgrade noted

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BLK. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BlackRock from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 17th. CICC Research increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Barclays raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. UBS Group raised BlackRock from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $1,280.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut BlackRock from a "moderate buy" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday. 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, BlackRock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,311.11.

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.

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