GLOBALT Investments LLC GA Makes New $3.42 Million Investment in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)

GLOBALT Investments LLC GA bought a new position in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 95,752 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,416,000. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA owned about 0.06% of Virtu Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Natixis Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Virtu Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $401,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new stake in Virtu Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $344,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Virtu Financial by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 11,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $397,000 after acquiring an additional 844 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Virtu Financial by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 108,299 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,864,000 after acquiring an additional 5,679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Virtu Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $383,000. 45.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Virtu Financial Stock Up 4.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ VIRT opened at $35.71 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a PE ratio of 12.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.57. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $19.06 and a 12-month high of $41.38. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.91. 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 (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, 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. Virtu Financial’s payout ratio is 32.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Virtu Financial news, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 34,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.88, for a total transaction of $1,253,920.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 191,703 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,070,006.64. This represents a 15.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brett Fairclough sold 72,967 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,343,193.16. The trade was a 44.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 140,967 shares of company stock worth $5,213,964. Insiders own 46.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Virtu Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.36.

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.