Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) Shares Sold by Treasurer of the State of North Carolina

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina cut its position in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 280 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina’s holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $1,256,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VIRT. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $387,000. FIL Ltd increased its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 542,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,358,000 after buying an additional 22,644 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 802,391 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,629,000 after buying an additional 82,396 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 14,826 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $516,000 after buying an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in Virtu Financial by 28.2% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,375,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $227,488,000 after acquiring an additional 1,401,688 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Virtu Financial Price Performance

VIRT stock opened at $38.46 on Friday. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.35 and a 1 year high of $41.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.96 billion, a PE ratio of 12.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.88.

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

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Virtu Financial’s payout ratio is currently 32.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on VIRT shares. Bank of America dropped 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 report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut Virtu Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $26.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.