Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) Shares Bought by Marshall Wace LLP

Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) by 1,358.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 329,738 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 307,133 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP owned about 0.21% of Virtu Financial worth $11,765,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,794 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the period. Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 8,074 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the period. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. grew its position in Virtu Financial by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 30,132 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,075,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 14,826 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the period. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 19,635 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $701,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.78% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Virtu Financial

In other Virtu Financial news, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 34,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.41, for a total value of $1,271,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 157,703 shares in the company, valued at $5,899,669.23. This represents a 17.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Brett Fairclough sold 72,967 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.84, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 44.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 140,967 shares of company stock worth $5,213,964 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 46.70% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $40.00 price target (up previously from $38.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a research note on Thursday. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $37.88.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

Shares of VIRT stock traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $38.36. The stock had a trading volume of 1,793,116 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,190,807. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.94 billion, a PE ratio of 12.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.71. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.38 and a twelve month high of $41.38.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Virtu Financial's payout ratio is currently 32.32%.

About Virtu Financial

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.