Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Lowers Stake in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group trimmed its stake in BlackRock by 3.5% in Q4, selling 12,700 shares and ending the period with 346,624 shares worth about $371 million (0.22% of the company).
• Company insiders have been selling recently—directors J. Richard Kushel and Stephen Cohen sold stakes, and insiders sold 111,319 shares valued at roughly $124 million over the last quarter; insiders now own 1.98% of BlackRock.
• BlackRock reported stronger-than-expected Q4 results (EPS $13.16 vs. $12.55 estimate; revenue $7.01B, up 23.4% YoY) and raised its quarterly dividend to $5.73 ($22.92 annualized, ~2.3% yield).

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 346,624 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 12,700 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.22% of BlackRock worth $371,006,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 23.1% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.6% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 2nd quarter valued at $259,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 2nd quarter valued at $548,000. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 2nd quarter valued at $98,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 385 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,084.91, for a total transaction of $417,690.35. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,335 shares in the company, valued at $3,618,174.85. This trade represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen Cohen sold 225 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director owned 5,661 shares in the company, valued at $6,054,779.16. This trade represents 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 111,319 shares of company stock valued at $123,999,249 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $999.42 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average is $1,016.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,071.03. The company has a market capitalization of $155.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $840.50 and a fifty-two week high of $1,219.94.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $13.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $12.55 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.80 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.78% and a net margin of 22.93%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $11.93 EPS. Research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a dividend of $5.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from BlackRock's previous quarterly dividend of $5.21. BlackRock's payout ratio is 64.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,340.00 to $1,150.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,290.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,244.00 to $1,267.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Evercore reduced their target price on BlackRock from $1,235.00 to $1,180.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on BlackRock from $1,280.00 to $1,235.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,255.00.

More BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Big inflows into BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF signal continued demand for its crypto ETF franchise — Cointelegraph reports $269M flowed into the iShares Bitcoin Trust in a single day, helping stabilize ETF flows and AUM dynamics. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock is expanding its crypto and staking infrastructure (largest single-day ETH buys reported; added Galaxy Digital as an ETHB validator), which supports growth of fee-bearing, differentiated ETF products. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Product innovation: CNBC highlights BlackRock applying hedge‑fund long/short strategies to liquid alternative ETFs — this could attract higher‑margin flows and broader client demand. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Strategic moves: BlackRock’s infrastructure arm is reportedly eyeing Associated British Ports — a sign of continued private markets deployment that can diversify fee streams but would be capital‑intensive and long‑dated. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Dividend and income positioning: several pieces (Yahoo/Zacks/TipRanks) highlight BLK as an attractive dividend stock and point to high‑yield BlackRock dividend ETFs — supportive for long‑term investor demand but not an immediate catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Concentrated analyst pressure: multiple firms trimmed targets/ratings this week (UBS, TD Cowen, Evercore, BMO among them), reducing upside expectations and amplifying near‑term selling pressure. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Investor litigation risk: Pomerantz announced an investigation into BlackRock on April 9 — legal actions or settlements could create headline risk and uncertainty for shareholders. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Management caution: BlackRock’s Helen Jewell warned that earnings estimates may be overly optimistic amid inflationary pressures from geopolitical events — increased guidance risk ahead of Q1 results. Article Title

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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