Bank of Montreal Can Sells 77,908 Shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)

Bank of Montreal Can cut its holdings in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) by 83.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,835 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 77,908 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can's holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $565,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. 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 acquiring an additional 322 shares during the period. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. boosted its stake in Virtu Financial by 1.2% during 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 buying an additional 371 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Virtu Financial by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 14,826 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Virtu Financial by 2.2% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, HBW Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,974 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Virtu Financial

In other news, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 34,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 157,703 shares in the company, valued at $5,899,669.23. This trade represents a 17.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 value of $2,688,104.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 90,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,343,193.16. The trade was a 44.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 140,967 shares of company stock valued at $5,213,964. Company insiders own 46.70% of the company's stock.

Virtu Financial Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VIRT traded down $0.71 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $38.40. 761,078 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,006,219. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a PE ratio of 12.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.71. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $21.38 and a one year high of $41.38. The business's 50 day moving average is $36.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.07.

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

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

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 $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. Virtu Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VIRT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $40.00 target price (up from $38.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America dropped their price target on Virtu Financial from $56.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Virtu Financial presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $37.88.

Virtu Financial 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.