Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 188,204 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Franklin Resources trimmed its BlackRock stake by 9.4% in Q3, selling 188,204 shares and now holds 1,817,154 shares (~1.17% of BLK) valued at about $2.12 billion.
• BlackRock posted an earnings beat (EPS $13.16 vs. $12.55; revenue $7.01B, up 23.4% y/y) and raised its quarterly dividend to $5.73 (annualized $22.92, yield 2.4%), while insiders sold roughly 111,319 shares (~$124M) over the last quarter.

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,817,154 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 188,204 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 1.17% of BlackRock worth $2,118,565,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BLK. Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its position in BlackRock by 450.0% during the third quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 22 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its position in BlackRock by 1,000.0% in the third quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 22 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Traub Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 866.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 29 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,514.00 to $1,550.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. TD Cowen lowered BlackRock from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut BlackRock from a "moderate buy" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,456.00 to $1,464.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,296.00 to $1,380.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,308.89.

Trending Headlines about BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Market context: BLK outperformed a soft market session, suggesting relative demand for the stock as investors rotated into large-cap asset managers. BlackRock (BLK) Rises As Market Takes A Dip: Key Facts
• Positive Sentiment: Crypto/ETF activity: Continued movement related to BlackRock’s spot crypto ETF franchise (ETHA/BTC exposure) — including large transfers of BTC/ETH to Coinbase and commentary on ETHA — keeps BLK central to ETF-driven flows that can lift AUM and fee momentum. BlackRock Transfers 2,200 BTC and 2,417 ETH to Coinbase
• Neutral Sentiment: Product positioning: Discussion about BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust and factor-rotation ETF (DYNF) highlights growth opportunities from new ETF products, but also execution and regulatory risk that could reshape returns. Regulation Catalysts Would Completely Reshape BlackRock’s Ethereum ETF
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/commodities view: BlackRock’s research calling for further gains in gold and silver could support its trading and market-making revenues and appeal to investors rotating into inflation hedges. BlackRock sees further gains for both gold and silver
• Negative Sentiment: Private credit stress: Redemption caps and gating across private-credit vehicles (HLEND, HPS Corporate Lending Fund) have drawn attention — raising concerns about liquidity management, potential AUM pressure and reputational risk for asset managers. BlackRock Won’t Let Billionaires Cash Out of Its $26B Fund. That Should Worry Everyone.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst/chip-downside: Evercore trimmed BLK’s price target after an early review of February flows (Outperform maintained but PT reduced), a modest negative for sentiment and upside expectations. BlackRock (BLK) Price Target Reduced by Evercore ISI
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/investigations noise: Law firms are circulating class-action and shareholder investigation notices (including matters tied to BlackRock entities), which can add short-term headline risk and investor caution. BlackRock, Inc. Shareholders Are Encouraged to Reach Out

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 5,293 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,084.22, for a total value of $5,738,776.46. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 46,185 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,074,700.70. The trade was a 10.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Martin Small sold 27,047 shares of the company's 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 value of $31,675,823.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,363,724.98. The trade was a 71.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 111,319 shares of company stock worth $123,999,249 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $967.58 on Wednesday. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $773.74 and a fifty-two week high of $1,219.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. The company has a market capitalization of $150.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a fifty day moving average of $1,084.34 and a 200 day moving average of $1,096.56.

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 analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.80 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $11.93 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $5.73 per share. This is a boost from BlackRock's previous quarterly dividend of $5.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is 64.71%.

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.

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