Virtu Financial, Inc. $VIRT Shares Sold by Diversify Wealth Management LLC

Diversify Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT) by 21.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 38,488 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,429 shares during the quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $1,311,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VIRT. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 1,624.1% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 942 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in shares of Virtu Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Virtu Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,934,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 13.4% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 226,233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,624,000 after purchasing an additional 26,743 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning acquired a new position in shares of Virtu Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $235,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

Virtu Financial Trading Up 3.5%

Shares of VIRT stock opened at $51.29 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $45.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.97. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $31.55 and a 1-year high of $52.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.93 billion, a PE ratio of 8.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.62. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.58. The company had revenue of $786.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $613.12 million. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 51.63% and a net margin of 14.17%.Virtu Financial’s revenue was up 30.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 5.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 15.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VIRT. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Virtu Financial from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Weiss Ratings raised Virtu Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Virtu Financial from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Virtu Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Virtu Financial from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Virtu Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Virtu Financial

In other Virtu Financial news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total value of $1,501,800.00. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Joseph Molluso sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.88, for a total value of $7,776,000.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 300,000 shares of company stock valued at $11,960,444. Insiders own 47.20% of the company’s stock.

About Virtu Financial

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.