Neuberger Berman Group LLC Sells 11,544 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Neuberger Berman trimmed its stake in BlackRock by 3.4% in the third quarter, selling 11,544 shares and leaving it with 327,139 shares (about 0.21%) valued at roughly $381.4 million.
• BlackRock shares plunged about 7.9% after the firm capped withdrawals from a $26 billion private‑credit vehicle amid roughly $1.2 billion in redemption requests and a $25 million loan write‑off, stoking liquidity concerns and pressuring peers and analyst sentiment.
• The firm raised its quarterly dividend to $5.73 (annualized $22.92, ~2.4% yield) and posted strong quarterly results (EPS $13.16, revenue $7.01 billion), while institutional investors own about 80.7% of the stock.

Neuberger Berman Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 3.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 327,139 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 11,544 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC owned about 0.21% of BlackRock worth $381,401,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Westerkirk Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,877,000. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey lifted its stake in BlackRock by 7.9% in the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 23,167 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $24,308,000 after purchasing an additional 1,693 shares during the last quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in BlackRock in the third quarter worth $6,201,000. Lingohr Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the third quarter valued at about $700,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 8.2% during the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 256,937 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $269,591,000 after buying an additional 19,404 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

More BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock is expanding its iShares iBonds ETF franchise — nine new defined‑maturity bond ETFs across Treasuries, TIPS, corporates, high yield and muni markets — which supports fee growth and ETF distribution strength. BlackRock Announces Plans to Expand iBonds ETF Franchise
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock launched the iShares Broad USD Floating Rate Loan ETF (USLN), opening index‑based access to the $1.4T leveraged‑loan market — a distribution/growth opportunity for its ETF business. BlackRock Launches USLN ETF
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional adoption of BlackRock’s Aladdin Wealth continues: Intesa Sanpaolo will extend use of Aladdin Wealth for its international banks unit, supporting recurring technology revenue. Intesa Sanpaolo to adopt BlackRock's Aladdin Wealth
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory disclosure: BlackRock disclosed its stake in Finland’s Orion Corp lifted above 5%, a routine holdings disclosure with little immediate impact on BLK’s fundamentals. Orion Corporation disclosure
• Negative Sentiment: Market shock: BlackRock capped withdrawals from a $26B private‑credit vehicle after redemption requests exceeded the periodic limit, prompting a broad selloff in BLK and peers as investors reassess liquidity risk in private credit. Forbes: BlackRock Shares Tumble After Limits
• Negative Sentiment: Credit stress: Reporting says BlackRock took a $25M loan write‑off and faced roughly $1.2B in redemption requests tied to private credit, underscoring valuation and liquidity risks in opaque private loan portfolios. Blockonomi: Loan Write-Off & Redemptions
• Negative Sentiment: Contagion risk: The move put alternative asset managers (Blackstone, Apollo, KKR, Ares, Blue Owl) under scrutiny as investors test redemption mechanics across private‑credit and alternative strategies. Benzinga: Peers Under Watch
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst reaction: Evercore trimmed its price target modestly, reflecting near‑term caution after the private‑credit developments. Analyst downgrades/target cuts could add selling pressure if more follow. MarketScreener: Evercore Adjusts Price Target

BlackRock Stock Down 7.9%

BLK stock opened at $953.67 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $1,089.21 and a 200 day moving average of $1,099.40. The firm has a market cap of $148.33 billion, a PE ratio of 26.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.48. BlackRock has a twelve month low of $773.74 and a twelve month high of $1,219.94. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $13.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $6.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $11.93 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $5.73 dividend. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from BlackRock's previous quarterly dividend of $5.21. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on BLK shares. Freedom Capital upgraded BlackRock from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $1,351.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a report on Friday, January 16th. TD Cowen lowered BlackRock from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BlackRock from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of BlackRock from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $1,280.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,308.89.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Stephen Cohen sold 2,179 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,073.87, for a total transaction of $2,339,962.73. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,026,331.41. This trade represents a 24.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,125.00, for a total value of $22,500,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,630,750. This represents a 24.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 111,319 shares of company stock worth $123,999,249. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BLK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.