Portolan Capital Management LLC Increases Position in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)

Portolan Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) by 35.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 528,607 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 137,335 shares during the period. Virtu Financial comprises about 1.3% of Portolan Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Portolan Capital Management LLC owned 0.34% of Virtu Financial worth $18,861,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

VIRT stock traded up $0.66 during trading on Friday, reaching $38.46. The company had a trading volume of 1,170,164 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,190,143. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 1.13. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.35 and a twelve month high of $41.38. The company has a market cap of $5.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.88.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share 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 expect that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. Virtu Financial's payout ratio is 32.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on VIRT. Morgan Stanley lowered Virtu Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $26.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $56.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at Virtu Financial

In related news, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 34,000 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 191,703 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,070,006.64. This trade represents a 15.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 of the company's stock, valued at $3,343,193.16. This represents a 44.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 140,967 shares of company stock valued at $5,213,964. Corporate insiders own 46.70% of the company's stock.

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.