M&T Bank Corp Sells 94,347 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• M&T Bank Corp cut its stake in BlackRock by 63.8% in Q4, selling 94,347 shares and leaving it with 53,465 shares valued at $57.226 million.
• BlackRock beat Q1 revenue and EPS estimates and reported record first-quarter net inflows and strong ETF demand, prompting several price-target upgrades; the consensus rating is a Moderate Buy with a $1,269.06 target.
• Insiders have sold 64,272 shares worth about $69.8 million over the past 90 days (including a 5,293-share sale by the COO), while institutional investors still own roughly 80.7% of the company.

M&T Bank Corp lessened its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 63.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,465 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 94,347 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in BlackRock were worth $57,226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BLK. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,615,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the second quarter valued at approximately $259,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the second quarter valued at approximately $548,000. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the second quarter valued at approximately $98,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on BLK shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded BlackRock from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded BlackRock from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. One 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,269.06.

BlackRock News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets raised its price target for BLK to $1,250, signaling bullish analyst sentiment that can support further buying interest. BMO Capital Markets Raises BlackRock Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock reported strong Q1 results (revenue and EPS beat, robust net inflows), which underpin higher fee income and validate recent AUM growth trends — a key driver of today’s stock strength. Q4/Q1 Earnings Transcript
• Positive Sentiment: Record first-quarter net inflows and continued ETF demand (including sizable weekly inflows into IBIT) are expanding BlackRock’s AUM and recurring revenue base — a primary reason investors are bid up. Record First-Quarter Net Inflows
• Positive Sentiment: Renewed institutional interest in Bitcoin and strong ETF flows into IBIT support BlackRock’s crypto-related revenue and positioning in a fast-growing ETF category. That continues to be a catalyst for sentiment. IBIT ETF Inflows & Bitcoin Demand
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage pieces on BlackRock’s AI transformation highlight operational improvements and long-term efficiency gains, but benefits are multi-year and less likely to move near-term fundamentals. Inside BlackRock’s AI Transformation
• Neutral Sentiment: Competitors (e.g., Strategy/MSTR) have temporarily surpassed BlackRock in raw Bitcoin holdings, a symbolic development but one that doesn’t materially reduce IBIT’s ETF inflows or BlackRock’s fee economics. Strategy Passes BlackRock in BTC Holdings
• Negative Sentiment: Minor regulatory/portfolio items — e.g., BlackRock ceasing to be a substantial holder in an Australian REIT and expiration/structure issues around some closed-end funds — are peripheral but could draw attention from income-focused investors. BlackRock Ceases to Be Substantial Holder in National Storage REIT

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $1,061.90 on Thursday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $1,010.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,064.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $165.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.48. BlackRock has a 12 month low of $888.76 and a 12 month high of $1,219.94. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $12.40 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.56 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.96% and a net margin of 24.40%.The business's revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.64 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 52.77 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 5,293 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 46,185 shares in the company, valued at $50,074,700.70. The trade was a 10.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available 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 value of $240,651.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,054,779.16. The trade was a 3.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 64,272 shares of company stock worth $69,823,426 over the last ninety days. 1.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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