Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) Shares Sold by Stephens Investment Management Group LLC

Stephens Investment Management Group LLC reduced its stake in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) by 6.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 565,963 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 41,308 shares during the quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC’s holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $17,239,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in Virtu Financial by 25.2% in the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 34,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,042,000 after acquiring an additional 6,893 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 20.4% during the third quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,589 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $296,000 after buying an additional 1,625 shares during the period. Pullen Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 8.9% during the third quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 72,628 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,212,000 after buying an additional 5,936 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 88.2% during the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 62,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,931,000 after buying an additional 29,385 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 31.0% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,189 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $402,000 after buying an additional 3,120 shares during the period. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ VIRT opened at $31.56 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $31.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.47. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.02 and a 1 year high of $33.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.38.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $388.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $379.18 million. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 23.22% and a net margin of 7.29%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.40 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Sunday, December 1st. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. Virtu Financial’s payout ratio is currently 48.24%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Virginia Gambale sold 5,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.30, for a total transaction of $147,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 24,122 shares in the company, valued at approximately $658,530.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 46.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VIRT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Virtu Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Virtu Financial from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Virtu Financial from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on Virtu Financial from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.50.

Virtu Financial 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.