Marshall Wace LLP Raises Stake in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)

Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) by 1,358.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 329,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 307,133 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP owned 0.21% of Virtu Financial worth $11,765,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 391,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,970,000 after purchasing an additional 5,371 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 60.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,691,000 after buying an additional 20,843 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 48.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 358,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,907,000 after acquiring an additional 117,062 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter worth $954,000. Finally, Moody Aldrich Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 310,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,088,000 after purchasing an additional 55,102 shares during the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Virtu Financial

In other Virtu Financial news, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 34,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.41, for a total transaction of $1,271,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 157,703 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,899,669.23. This represents a 17.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brett Fairclough sold 72,967 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.84, for a total transaction of $2,688,104.28. Following the transaction, 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. Insiders sold a total of 140,967 shares of company stock worth $5,213,964 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 46.70% of the company’s stock.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

Shares of VIRT stock opened at $37.16 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.76 billion, a PE ratio of 12.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.71. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.92 and a 52-week high of $41.38. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.32. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 9.61% and a return on equity of 27.39%. On average, equities analysts expect that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley cut Virtu Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $26.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $56.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.21.

About Virtu Financial

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.