Rathbones Group PLC Sells 1,300 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Rathbones Group PLC trimmed its stake in BlackRock by 2.2%, selling 1,300 shares and leaving 56,715 shares valued at $66.122 million.
• BlackRock capped withdrawals from a $26 billion private‑credit vehicle after redemption requests exceeded limits, triggering a >7% share selloff and reports of roughly $1.2 billion in redemptions and a $25 million loan write‑off, prompting analyst caution.
• Despite the turmoil, BlackRock beat quarterly estimates (EPS $13.16 vs. $12.55; revenue $7.01B), raised its quarterly dividend to $5.73 (2.4% yield), and retains a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $1,308.89.

Rathbones Group PLC trimmed its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 2.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 56,715 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 1,300 shares during the quarter. Rathbones Group PLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $66,122,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BLK. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.7% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,991,264 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $14,680,334,000 after buying an additional 227,192 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in BlackRock by 1.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,143,429 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,281,641,000 after buying an additional 34,049 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in BlackRock during the 2nd quarter worth $2,644,007,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in BlackRock by 72.5% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,005,358 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,104,122,000 after acquiring an additional 842,901 shares during the period. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in BlackRock by 105,267.4% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,705,899 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,789,915,000 after acquiring an additional 1,704,280 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on BLK shares. Bank of America increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,456.00 to $1,464.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,250.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,244.00 to $1,267.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. CICC Research raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. One 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,308.89.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other BlackRock 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 value of $2,339,962.73. Following the sale, the director owned 6,543 shares in the company, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,125.00, for a total transaction of $22,500,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,630,750. The trade was a 24.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 111,319 shares of company stock valued at $123,999,249 in the last quarter. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BLK stock opened at $953.67 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,089.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,099.20. The company has a market cap of $148.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.48. 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 has a twelve month low of $773.74 and a twelve month high of $1,219.94.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $13.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $12.55 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.80 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.78% and a net margin of 22.93%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $11.93 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 2.4%. BlackRock's payout ratio is presently 58.84%.

BlackRock News Summary

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 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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