Stephens Investment Management Group LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Virtu Financial, Inc. $VIRT

Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) by 12.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 548,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 62,570 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC owned about 0.36% of Virtu Financial worth $24,551,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Penserra Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $231,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 3,319.6% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 10,635 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $405,000 after buying an additional 10,324 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 401,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,291,000 after buying an additional 9,569 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC purchased a new position in Virtu Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $417,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

Virtu Financial Stock Up 0.4%

NASDAQ VIRT opened at $33.44 on Thursday. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $29.82 and a 52 week high of $45.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.91. The firm has a market cap of $5.11 billion, a PE ratio of 9.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.62.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 32.08% and a net margin of 10.43%.The business had revenue of $274.00 million for the quarter. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 1st were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Virtu Financial from $48.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 6th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up previously from $40.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Virtu Financial from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Virtu Financial from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.43.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 90,701 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.40, for a total transaction of $3,845,722.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 46.70% of the company’s stock.

Virtu Financial Profile

Virtu Financial, Inc operates as a financial services company in the United States, Asia Pacific, Canada, EMEA, Ireland, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Market Making and Execution Services. Its product includes offerings in execution, liquidity sourcing, analytics and broker-neutral, capital markets, and multi-dealer platforms in workflow technology.