FIL Ltd Buys 22,644 Shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)

FIL Ltd lifted its stake in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 542,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,644 shares during the period. FIL Ltd’s holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $19,358,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Virtu Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,081,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 391,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,970,000 after purchasing an additional 5,371 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 60.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,691,000 after purchasing an additional 20,843 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Virtu Financial by 48.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 358,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,907,000 after purchasing an additional 117,062 shares during the period. Finally, Moody Aldrich Partners LLC boosted its stake in Virtu Financial by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 310,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,088,000 after buying an additional 55,102 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Virtu Financial

In related news, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 34,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.41, for a total value of $1,271,940.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 157,703 shares in the company, valued at $5,899,669.23. This represents a 17.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Brett Fairclough sold 72,967 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.84, for a total transaction of $2,688,104.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 90,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,343,193.16. The trade was a 44.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 140,967 shares of company stock worth $5,213,964. Insiders own 46.70% of the company’s stock.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

Virtu Financial stock opened at $37.03 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.30 and a 12-month high of $41.38.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.32. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 9.61% and a return on equity of 27.39%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 32.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Virtu Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $26.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $56.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.21.

Virtu Financial Company 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.