Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Acquires 1,732 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its BlackRock holding by 3.3% in Q3, adding 1,732 shares to reach 54,562 shares valued at about $63.6 million per its latest Form 13F filing.
• Wall Street sentiment is broadly positive: MarketBeat lists a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a $1,308.89 average target, and several firms (Jefferies, Goldman, Morgan Stanley, UBS) have reiterated or raised buy/overweight ratings and targets.
• BlackRock beat quarterly estimates (EPS $13.16 vs. $12.55; revenue $7.01B vs. $6.80B), raised its quarterly dividend to $5.73 (annualized $22.92, ~2.4% yield), while insiders have been net sellers recently (111,319 shares sold over the last 90 days).

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 54,562 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 1,732 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $63,612,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacifica Partners Inc. raised its holdings in BlackRock by 450.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 22 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 22 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Traub Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 866.7% during the third quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 29 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $1,351.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a report on Friday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $1,313.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,514.00 to $1,550.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded BlackRock from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group raised BlackRock from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $1,280.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,308.89.

BlackRock Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $951.36 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $773.74 and a 1 year high of $1,219.94. The company has a market cap of $147.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.86, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.48. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $1,081.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,095.55.

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

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $5.73 per share. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. This is a positive change from BlackRock's previous quarterly dividend of $5.21. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. BlackRock's payout ratio is currently 64.71%.

Key BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock announced a $100 million philanthropic initiative (Future Builders) to fund skilled‑trade training, positioning the firm to benefit from larger infrastructure spending and strengthening government/industry relationships. BlackRock Launches $100 Million Philanthropic Initiative
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock has built a significant stake in Qiagen (reported >11% of voting rights), demonstrating active, selective equity positioning that could unlock upside if the firm engages strategically. BlackRock Builds Significant Stake in Qiagen
• Positive Sentiment: Crypto infrastructure link: a new USSD stablecoin launch cites U.S. Treasury backing held with funds including BlackRock, highlighting demand for BlackRock custody/treasury products in emerging crypto use cases. Sonic Labs Launches USSD
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts are fine‑tuning assumptions: a small fair‑value tweak (from ~$1,328 to ~$1,321) reflects nuanced changes to flows, margins and target multiples rather than a sentiment reversal. This explains part of today’s recalibration. How The BlackRock (BLK) Story Is Shifting As Analysts Rework Targets And Assumptions
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock executives/commentary (markets and macro views) remain in the public eye, but these remarks are background macro color rather than direct catalysts for BLK stock. Markets Showing Immutable Laws in Action on Iran, Says BlackRock's Wei Li
• Negative Sentiment: Sector stress: redemption requests above 7% at Cliffwater’s $33B private credit fund highlight liquidity strains in private credit — a space where BlackRock has meaningful exposure and fee sensitivity; investor caution there can pressure fee growth and valuations. Cliffwater's $33B Private Credit Fund Faces Redemption Requests Exceeding 7%
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst target cuts (Evercore and others trimmed targets after early February flow reviews) signal tangible concerns about near‑term net flows and margin pressure — a key driver of today’s weakness. BlackRock (BLK) Price Target Reduced by Evercore ISI

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 385 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,084.91, for a total value of $417,690.35. Following the sale, the director owned 3,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,618,174.85. This trade represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen Cohen sold 225 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,069.56, for a total transaction of $240,651.00. Following the sale, the director owned 5,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,054,779.16. This represents a 3.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 111,319 shares of company stock worth $123,999,249. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

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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