Chemung Canal Trust Co. Cuts Position in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Chemung Canal Trust Co. cut its BlackRock stake by 77.9% in the first quarter, selling 1,898 shares and ending with 540 shares worth about $519,000.
• Several BlackRock insiders also sold shares, including CEO Laurence Fink and President Robert Kapito, though insiders still hold only 1.92% of the company.
• Despite the sales, Wall Street remains broadly bullish: analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus on BlackRock, with a median price target around $1,269.44, while the company also recently posted strong quarterly results and paid a $5.73 dividend.

Chemung Canal Trust Co. lowered its position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 77.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 540 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 1,898 shares during the quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $519,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Birchbrook Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. purchased a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were 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 owned 230,516 shares in the company, valued at $242,168,583.80. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,056.60, for a total transaction of $9,233,627.40. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 210,186 shares in the company, valued at $222,082,527.60. The trade was a 3.99% 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BLK. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,181.00 to $1,313.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. UBS Group upped their price target on BlackRock from $1,235.00 to $1,270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of BlackRock from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,269.44.

More BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target on BlackRock to $1,430 from $1,393 and kept an overweight rating, reinforcing a bullish outlook on the stock. Morgan Stanley raises price target on BlackRock
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock continues to promote retirement-focused solutions, with its 2026 Read on Retirement survey showing demand for help beyond traditional stock-and-bond portfolios; that supports the firm’s advisory and retirement franchise. BlackRock retirement survey
• Positive Sentiment: Trumid announced a multi-year partnership with BlackRock Aladdin, which could deepen the platform’s reach in fixed-income trading workflows and bolster BlackRock’s technology and enterprise relationships. Trumid partnership with BlackRock Aladdin
• Neutral Sentiment: Articles comparing BlackRock with AMG on value and covering BlackRock ETF yield strategies are mostly informational, but they keep BlackRock’s product lineup in focus for income-oriented investors. AMG or BLK value comparison BALI yield strategy article
• Negative Sentiment: Crypto-market commentary noted defensive positioning in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) options and a new yearly low for the fund, which may dampen sentiment around BlackRock’s fast-growing Bitcoin ETF business. Bitcoin options traders hedge downside BlackRock iconic fund hits new yearly low
• Negative Sentiment: BlackRock was also mentioned in reports about Bitcoin and Ethereum transfers to Coinbase Prime, which may raise questions about crypto-asset flows, though the impact on BLK itself is unclear. BlackRock sends Bitcoin and Ethereum to Coinbase Prime

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK stock opened at $966.50 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $1,045.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,049.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a current ratio of 4.09. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $917.39 and a 1 year high of $1,219.94. The firm has a market cap of $150.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.26, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.42.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $12.40 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.56 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 24.40%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.64 EPS. Analysts predict that BlackRock will post 52.8 earnings per share for the current 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 paid 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 2.4%. BlackRock's payout ratio is currently 57.53%.

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.

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