Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Buys 1,425 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 14.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,481 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 1,425 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $12,289,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. HM Payson & Co. raised its position 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 worth $1,683,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. PUREfi Wealth LLC increased its position in BlackRock by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. PUREfi Wealth LLC now owns 460 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $536,000 after buying an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Shum Financial Group Inc. increased its position in BlackRock by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Shum Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,183 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,336,000 after buying an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME increased its position in BlackRock by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME now owns 321 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $344,000 after buying an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rather & Kittrell Inc. increased its position in BlackRock by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Rather & Kittrell Inc. now owns 430 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $461,000 after buying an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 5,293 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer owned 46,185 shares in the company, valued at $50,074,700.70. This represents a 10.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen Cohen sold 225 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,069.56, for a total value of $240,651.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,661 shares in the company, valued at $6,054,779.16. The trade was a 3.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 64,272 shares of company stock worth $69,823,426. 1.92% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

BlackRock Stock Up 1.2%

BlackRock stock opened at $1,057.34 on Tuesday. 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $1,009.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,061.68. The company has a market cap of $164.46 billion, a PE ratio of 26.54, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.48. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $893.93 and a fifty-two week high of $1,219.94.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.56 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.96% and a net margin of 24.40%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.64 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 52.77 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on BLK shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,181.00 to $1,313.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. UBS Group upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,235.00 to $1,270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,240.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $1,220.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,269.06.

Key Stories Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst pieces highlight BlackRock as an attractive dividend stock and point to durable fee-generating cash flows that support payouts and long-term shareholder returns. BlackRock (BLK) is a Top Dividend Stock Right Now: Should You Buy?
• Positive Sentiment: Industry write-ups single out BlackRock’s recent Q1 beat as a catalyst that sets positive expectations for asset managers, reinforcing momentum in fee revenue and EPS. 3 Asset Management Stocks Set to Pull Off Earnings Beat in Q1
• Positive Sentiment: Open interest on options tied to BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF has climbed and the ETF has attracted sizable inflows, supporting fee growth and cross-selling opportunities across BlackRock’s ETF platform. Elevated crypto ETF activity is drawing investor attention to BLK’s product leadership. Open interest on BlackRock's bitcoin ETF options reaches new heights
• Positive Sentiment: Grupo Mexico agreed to merge its power unit with a BlackRock-backed company (Saavi), creating Mexico’s largest private power operator — a strategic win for BlackRock’s infrastructure exposure and potential fee/return generation in Latin America. Grupo Mexico to Merge Power Unit With BlackRock-Backed Saavi
• Positive Sentiment: Product/ETF expansion — BlackRock launched region-specific active equity strategies and its dividend-focused ETFs continue to attract income-seeking flows, which can bolster AUM and recurring fees. 3 High-Yield BlackRock Dividend ETFs for Passive Income
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock disclosed a new stake in Archer Aviation (ACHR); portfolio moves into early-stage or stressed names can reflect active allocation strategy but also carry idiosyncratic risk and won’t meaningfully change BLK’s core fee profile. ACHR stock gains institutional muscle: BlackRock reveals 6.9% stake
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive pressure in the spot Bitcoin ETF market — analysts flag Morgan Stanley’s MSBT as a credible challenger that could pressure market share and fee dynamics over time if inflows reallocate. Bitcoin ETF: Three Reasons Morgan Stanley's MSBT Could Overtake BlackRock's IBIT BTC ETF

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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