BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Stake Lowered by Kesler Norman & Wride LLC

02 Apr 2025, 14:22 by Michael Walen · The Markets Daily

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC cut its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK – Free Report) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,306 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 91 shares during the quarter. BlackRock makes up about 1.8% of Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $8,516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,376,606 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $13,712,493,000 after purchasing an additional 68,405 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in BlackRock by 0.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,983,583 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,681,472,000 after buying an additional 42,757 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,006,765 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,072,787,000 after buying an additional 190,188 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at $2,356,357,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,102,643 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,130,330,000 after acquiring an additional 160,323 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $944.75 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $976.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $993.09. The stock has a market cap of $146.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.49, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12 month low of $745.55 and a 12 month high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.66 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.62%.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total transaction of $10,100,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,117,330. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,430 shares of company stock worth $21,234,629. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BLK. UBS Group upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

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