Insider Selling: Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) COO Sells 200,000 Shares of Stock

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) COO Joseph Molluso sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.88, for a total transaction of $7,776,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 326,585 shares in the company, valued at $12,697,624.80. This trade represents a 37.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

Shares of Virtu Financial stock traded up $0.44 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $39.81. The company had a trading volume of 1,138,152 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,274,927. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.42. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $31.55 and a 1-year high of $45.77. The company has a market capitalization of $6.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.61.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.73. The firm had revenue of $969.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $513.51 million. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 32.08% and a net margin of 10.43%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VIRT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Virtu Financial from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America raised Virtu Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Virtu Financial from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Virtu Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtu Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its stake in Virtu Financial by 3,460.0% in the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 258.3% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 713 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Virtu Financial by 96.0% during the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Virtu Financial by 480.6% during the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 692 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Virtu Financial by 103.8% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 760 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Virtu Financial Company Profile

Virtu Financial, Inc (NASDAQ: VIRT) is a leading global electronic trading firm specializing in market making, liquidity provision and trade execution services across a broad range of asset classes. Leveraging advanced quantitative models and proprietary trading technology, Virtu provides continuous bid and ask quotes in equities, fixed income, foreign exchange, commodities and digital assets. The firm’s infrastructure is designed to operate at high speeds and low latencies, enabling tight spreads and efficient price discovery for its clients.

In addition to its market-making activities, Virtu offers agency execution services, algorithmic trading strategies and transaction cost analysis tools.