Smith Salley Wealth Management Acquires 644 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Smith Salley Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,695 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 644 shares during the period. Smith Salley Wealth Management’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $4,308,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacifica Partners Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 450.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 22 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in BlackRock by 100.0% during the first quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 200.0% in the second quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 27 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Traub Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its stake in BlackRock by 107.1% in the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 29 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on BLK shares. Loop Capital set a $1,255.00 price objective on BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Monday. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,160.00 to $1,265.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,305.00 to $1,298.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,316.18.

BlackRock News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s BUIDL tokenized Treasury has paid $100M in dividends — a milestone for its tokenization efforts that highlights a new revenue/earnings channel and the firm’s push into financial infrastructure innovation. BlackRock’s BUIDL becomes first tokenized Treasury to pay $100M in dividends
• Positive Sentiment: Reports note BlackRock has hit a record milestone in payouts — reinforces the firm’s strong cash-return profile and supports investor expectations for steady distributions from fee income and ETF flows. BlackRock hits record milestone in payouts
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock increased its stake in OMV AG above the 4% voting-rights threshold — a strategic stake that could give BLK greater influence and potential engagement opportunities in European energy assets. Investors may view this as an active capital-allocation/engagement move. BlackRock Lifts OMV Stake Above 4% Voting Rights Threshold
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts maintain constructive views: BLK has an average analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” and multiple price targets above current levels — supportive for medium-term sentiment. BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock set its Q4 2025 earnings release for Jan. 15, 2026 (pre-market) and will host management for the call — a scheduled event that could move the stock depending on outcomes but is routine. BlackRock to Report Fourth Quarter 2025 Earnings on January 15th
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock Canada announced final annual reinvested capital gains distributions (non‑cash) and separate final December cash distributions for many iShares ETFs — routine year‑end tax and cash-management items for Canadian-listed funds. These are operationally normal but can affect short-term flows in specific ETFs. BlackRock® Canada Announces Final Annual Reinvested Capital Gains Distributions for the iShares® ETFs
• Neutral Sentiment: Analytical pieces on BLK valuation / P/E provide context but add little immediate news — useful for longer-term investors assessing multiples versus peers. Price Over Earnings Overview: BlackRock
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that BlackRock moved large amounts of Bitcoin and Ethereum to Coinbase amid crypto‑ETF outflows signal liquidity management and persistent investor redemptions in crypto ETFs — a potential near‑term headwind for fee growth and sentiment around BLK’s crypto strategy. BlackRock Moves Bitcoin and Ethereum to Coinbase as Crypto ETF Outflows Grow

BlackRock Stock Down 0.5%

BLK stock opened at $1,082.95 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.33, a current ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. BlackRock has a 52 week low of $773.74 and a 52 week high of $1,219.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $168.02 billion, a PE ratio of 27.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.47. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $1,071.45 and a 200 day moving average of $1,097.15.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 14th. The asset manager reported $11.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.78 by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $6.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.22 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 26.64% and a return on equity of 14.80%. BlackRock’s quarterly revenue was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $11.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is presently 53.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Martin Small sold 1,258 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,043.38, for a total transaction of $1,312,572.04. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 6,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,478,346.42. This trade represents a 16.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rachel Lord sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,165.04, for a total value of $13,980,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,394,113.20. The trade was a 62.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

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.