Virtu Financial, Inc. $VIRT Shares Sold by UBS Group AG

UBS Group AG lowered its stake in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT) by 32.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 204,215 shares of the company’s stock after selling 100,253 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG’s holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $6,804,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its position in Virtu Financial by 3,460.0% in the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 692 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Virtu Financial by 258.3% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 103.8% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 760 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 51.9% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 972 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Virtu Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Virtu Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Joseph Molluso sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.88, for a total value of $7,776,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 326,585 shares in the company, valued at $12,697,624.80. This trade represents a 37.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Brett Fairclough sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total value of $1,501,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 42,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,126,198.38. This represents a 41.39% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 46.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

Shares of VIRT opened at $54.27 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $8.42 billion, a PE ratio of 8.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.62. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.08. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $31.55 and a 12-month high of $56.48.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.58. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 51.63% and a net margin of 14.17%.The firm had revenue of $786.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $613.12 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 5.53 EPS for the current year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.89%.

Virtu Financial Profile

Virtu Financial, Inc is a technology-driven electronic trading firm and market maker that provides liquidity and price discovery across a wide range of financial instruments. Leveraging advanced analytics, high-performance computing and proprietary algorithms, Virtu operates in equities, fixed income, foreign exchange, commodities and derivative products. Its technology platform is designed to capture bid-ask spreads in real time, manage risk through automated controls and adapt to changing market conditions.

The company offers a suite of execution services and market-making solutions to institutional clients such as asset managers, banks, broker-dealers and hedge funds.