12:01 PM EDT, 08/21/2024 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with BlackRock's ( BLK ) reason for rejecting the proposals in the third paragraph.)

BlackRock ( BLK ) trimmed its support for shareholder proposals tied to environmental, social and governance, or ESG, issues in the most recent annual general meeting season, according to media reports on Wednesday.

The company backed just 4% of ESG proposals, which increased to 493 from 455 in 2023, when BlackRock ( BLK ) supported 6.7% of such proposals, multiple news outlets said, citing a report on the asset manager's global voting record.

BlackRock ( BLK ) rejected most of the proposals because of the same reasons as in previous years. The company said in its report it found most of the proposals to be "over-reaching, lacked economic merit, or sought outcomes that were unlikely to promote long-term shareholder value," according to Reuters.

BlackRock ( BLK ) did not immediately reply to MT Newswires' request for comment.

Price: 862.24, Change: +1.26, Percent Change: +0.15