8,076 Shares in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) Purchased by West Michigan Advisors LLC

West Michigan Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 8,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $288,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VIRT. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Virtu Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in Virtu Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 439.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 1,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 42.9% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 860 shares during the period. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on VIRT. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Virtu Financial from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Virtu Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.36.

Insider Activity at Virtu Financial

In other news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 72,967 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.84, for a total value of $2,688,104.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 90,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,343,193.16. The trade was a 44.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 34,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.41, for a total value of $1,271,940.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 157,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,899,669.23. This represents a 17.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 140,967 shares of company stock valued at $5,213,964. Insiders own 46.70% of the company’s stock.

Virtu Financial Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of VIRT stock opened at $36.56 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $37.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.47. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.35 and a 12-month high of $41.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market cap of $5.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.46.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.63%. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.32%.

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.