Zacks Research Has Negative Outlook of BlackRock Q1 Earnings

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research reduced their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for BlackRock in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, December 3rd. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the asset manager will earn $10.73 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $10.79. The consensus estimate for BlackRock’s current full-year earnings is $43.18 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for BlackRock’s Q2 2025 earnings at $11.19 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $13.06 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $46.68 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $13.06 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $51.75 EPS.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The asset manager reported $11.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.42 by $1.04. The company had revenue of $5.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.03 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.37% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $10.91 EPS.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $864.00 to $914.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,010.00 to $1,120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,105.00 to $1,133.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,019.62.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $1,042.87 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $161.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a current ratio of 5.06. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $742.22 and a 1 year high of $1,068.34. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $1,004.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $896.26.

Institutional Trading of BlackRock

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,983,583 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,681,472,000 after purchasing an additional 42,757 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock by 1.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,816,577 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,663,330,000 after buying an additional 30,182 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in BlackRock by 10.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,363,965 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,244,608,000 after buying an additional 226,135 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,192,247 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,081,561,000 after acquiring an additional 40,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,665,044 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,310,762,000 after acquiring an additional 46,728 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BlackRock news, General Counsel Christopher J. Meade sold 18,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,045.83, for a total value of $18,824,940.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 8,628 shares in the company, valued at $9,023,421.24. The trade was a 67.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total value of $37,851,121.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,777,432. This represents a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 108,190 shares of company stock valued at $113,161,681. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $5.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 50.35%.

About BlackRock

BlackRock, Inc is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to institutional, intermediary, and individual investors including corporate, public, union, and industry pension plans, insurance companies, third-party mutual funds, endowments, public institutions, governments, foundations, charities, sovereign wealth funds, corporations, official institutions, and banks.