O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) by 35.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 57,677 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 32,242 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $2,058,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Virtu Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 172.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares in the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in shares of Virtu Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Virtu Financial during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VIRT opened at $35.10 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $37.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.53. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.15 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 $5.44 billion, a PE ratio of 11.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.71.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on VIRT. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $56.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Virtu Financial from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.21.

Insider Transactions at Virtu Financial

In other news, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 34,000 shares of Virtu Financial 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 157,703 shares in the company, valued at $5,899,669.23. The trade was a 17.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Brett Fairclough sold 72,967 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 90,749 shares of the company’s stock, 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 a total of 140,967 shares of company stock worth $5,213,964 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 46.70% of the company’s stock.

About Virtu Financial

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.