Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its position in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,403,152 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 209,314 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 6.08% of Virtu Financial worth $335,504,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Virtu Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 172.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 870 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 551 shares during the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.78% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 72,967 shares of the firm'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 value of $2,688,104.28. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 90,749 shares in the company, valued at $3,343,193.16. This trade represents a 44.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 34,000 shares of the business'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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 157,703 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,899,669.23. The trade was a 17.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 140,967 shares of company stock worth $5,213,964 over the last 90 days. 46.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America lowered their price target 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 downgraded Virtu Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $26.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report 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 issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.21.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

Shares of Virtu Financial stock traded down $2.33 on Tuesday, hitting $32.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,706,941 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,175,347. The company has a market capitalization of $5.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.71. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.15 and a 1 year high of $41.38. 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 fifty day moving average price of $37.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.60.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Virtu Financial's payout ratio is 32.32%.

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.