Virtu Financial LLC Invests $1.66 Million in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,618 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $1,658,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new stake in BlackRock in the third quarter valued at $518,000. Amalgamated Bank boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 28,711 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $29,432,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 12,480 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $12,793,000 after buying an additional 578 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in BlackRock in the third quarter worth about $32,904,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 65,396 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $67,038,000 after buying an additional 4,210 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $949.37, for a total value of $408,229.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,531,656.40. This trade represents a 10.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays decreased their target price on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com started coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BlackRock stock traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $968.46. The stock had a trading volume of 479,116 shares, compared to its average volume of 628,811. 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 52-week low of $745.55 and a 52-week high of $1,084.22. The company has a market capitalization of $150.36 billion, a PE ratio of 23.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. The firm's fifty day moving average is $980.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $990.36.

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

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $5.21 dividend. This is an increase from BlackRock's previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. BlackRock's payout ratio is presently 49.62%.

BlackRock Profile

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.