Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) COO Sells $1,501,800.00 in Stock

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT) COO Brett Fairclough sold 30,000 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total value of $1,501,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 42,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,126,198.38. This represents a 41.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Virtu Financial Stock Down 0.0%

Virtu Financial stock opened at $51.29 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.95 billion, a PE ratio of 8.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.62. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.55 and a 12 month high of $52.21. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.58. The business had revenue of $786.53 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $613.12 million. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 51.63% and a net margin of 14.17%.The business’s revenue was up 30.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.30 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 5.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Virtu Financial’s payout ratio is 15.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Virtu Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Virtu Financial from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings raised Virtu Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Virtu Financial from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Virtu Financial from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Virtu Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.67.

Institutional Trading of Virtu Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 1.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,920,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,458,000 after acquiring an additional 19,888 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in Virtu Financial by 0.8% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 159,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,015,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Virtu Financial during the first quarter worth $214,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Virtu Financial by 172.7% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in Virtu Financial by 0.5% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 91,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,015,000 after buying an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Virtu Financial Company Profile

Virtu Financial, Inc is a technology-driven electronic trading firm and market maker that provides liquidity and price discovery across a wide range of financial instruments. Leveraging advanced analytics, high-performance computing and proprietary algorithms, Virtu operates in equities, fixed income, foreign exchange, commodities and derivative products. Its technology platform is designed to capture bid-ask spreads in real time, manage risk through automated controls and adapt to changing market conditions.

The company offers a suite of execution services and market-making solutions to institutional clients such as asset managers, banks, broker-dealers and hedge funds.