336,838 Shares in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) Purchased by Norges Bank

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 336,838 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $12,018,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 0.22% of Virtu Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VIRT. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Virtu Financial during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Virtu Financial by 172.7% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Virtu Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors own 45.78% of the company's stock.

Virtu Financial Stock Up 4.2 %

Shares of VIRT traded up $1.49 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $37.03. The stock had a trading volume of 989,920 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,183,522. The firm has a market cap of $5.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.71. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.30 and a twelve month 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.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 27.39% and a net margin of 9.61%. On average, analysts anticipate that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. Virtu Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.32%.

Insider Transactions at Virtu Financial

In other news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 72,967 shares of the company'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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 90,749 shares in the company, valued at $3,343,193.16. This represents a 44.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 34,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.88, for a total value of $1,253,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 191,703 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,070,006.64. The trade was a 15.06 % 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 valued at $5,213,964 over the last 90 days. 46.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on VIRT shares. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $56.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Virtu Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $26.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.21.

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.