Trexquant Investment LP Cuts Stock Holdings in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)

Trexquant Investment LP reduced its position in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) by 79.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 53,166 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 209,988 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP's holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $1,897,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in Virtu Financial by 220.5% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 151,885 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,419,000 after purchasing an additional 104,492 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $954,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 180.0% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 948,590 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,846,000 after buying an additional 609,821 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in Virtu Financial by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 12,585 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $449,000 after acquiring an additional 1,854 shares during the period. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Virtu Financial in the 4th quarter worth $432,000. 45.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Virtu Financial Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ VIRT traded up $0.92 during trading on Monday, hitting $37.95. 79,130 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,180,163. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $36.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a PE ratio of 12.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.71. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.30 and a 12-month high of $41.38.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts expect that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. Virtu Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Virtu Financial

In related news, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 34,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.41, for a total value of $1,271,940.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 157,703 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,899,669.23. The trade was a 17.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Brett Fairclough sold 72,967 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 90,749 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,343,193.16. This trade represents a 44.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 140,967 shares of company stock worth $5,213,964 over the last quarter. 46.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.