Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) Shares Purchased by Fmr LLC

Fmr LLC boosted its position in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) by 28.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,375,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,401,688 shares during the period. Fmr LLC owned approximately 4.12% of Virtu Financial worth $227,488,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VIRT. Morgan Stanley downgraded Virtu Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $26.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $56.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.21.

Virtu Financial Stock Up 4.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VIRT opened at $37.03 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.74 billion, a PE ratio of 12.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.71. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.30 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’s 50-day moving average is $36.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.71.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.32. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 9.61% and a return on equity of 27.39%. Analysts predict that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Virtu Financial

In related news, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 34,000 shares of the firm’s 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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brett Fairclough sold 72,967 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.84, for a total transaction of $2,688,104.28. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 90,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,343,193.16. This trade represents a 44.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 140,967 shares of company stock worth $5,213,964. Company insiders own 46.70% of the company’s stock.

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.