Operose Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)

Operose Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) by 47.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,030 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,635 shares during the period. Operose Advisors LLC’s holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $144,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,081,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Virtu Financial by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 391,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,970,000 after purchasing an additional 5,371 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Virtu Financial by 60.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,691,000 after buying an additional 20,843 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Virtu Financial by 48.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 358,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,907,000 after buying an additional 117,062 shares during the period. Finally, Moody Aldrich Partners LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 55,102 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

Shares of VIRT opened at $38.23 on Tuesday. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.30 and a twelve month high of $41.38. The company has a market capitalization of $5.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $36.72 and a 200 day moving average of $35.79. 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on VIRT shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America lowered their target price 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, Morgan Stanley downgraded Virtu Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $26.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Virtu Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.21.

Insider Activity

In other Virtu Financial news, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 34,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 157,703 shares of the company’s stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Brett Fairclough sold 72,967 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.84, for a total value of $2,688,104.28. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 90,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,343,193.16. This represents a 44.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 140,967 shares of company stock valued at $5,213,964 in the last 90 days. 46.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Virtu Financial Company 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.