AlphaQuest LLC Has $278,000 Position in Virtu Financial, Inc. $VIRT

AlphaQuest LLC lessened its holdings in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) by 73.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 21,601 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $278,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 170.7% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 555,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,890,000 after acquiring an additional 350,401 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Virtu Financial by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,183,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,373,000 after purchasing an additional 222,862 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC bought a new position in Virtu Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $7,490,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,202,847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,876,000 after buying an additional 139,836 shares during the period. Finally, HRT Financial LP bought a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,940,000. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

VIRT stock opened at $39.31 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The company’s 50-day moving average is $35.43 and its 200-day moving average is $36.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.01 billion, a PE ratio of 11.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.61. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $31.55 and a 1 year high of $45.77.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.73. The business had revenue of $969.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $513.51 million. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 32.08% and a net margin of 10.43%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on VIRT shares. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Virtu Financial from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America raised shares of Virtu Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.00.

Virtu Financial Company Profile

Virtu Financial, Inc (NASDAQ: VIRT) is a leading global electronic trading firm specializing in market making, liquidity provision and trade execution services across a broad range of asset classes. Leveraging advanced quantitative models and proprietary trading technology, Virtu provides continuous bid and ask quotes in equities, fixed income, foreign exchange, commodities and digital assets. The firm’s infrastructure is designed to operate at high speeds and low latencies, enabling tight spreads and efficient price discovery for its clients.

In addition to its market-making activities, Virtu offers agency execution services, algorithmic trading strategies and transaction cost analysis tools.