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

Stephens Investment Management Group LLC cut its holdings in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) by 20.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 450,728 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 115,235 shares during the quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC’s holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $16,082,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Virtu Financial by 30.5% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 19,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 4,620 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 14.9% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 23,766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $534,000 after purchasing an additional 3,078 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $228,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in Virtu Financial by 28.1% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 21,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $667,000 after buying an additional 4,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 149.0% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 1,442 shares during the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on VIRT shares. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Virtu Financial from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Virtu Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.36.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:VIRT opened at $38.87 on Monday. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $16.31 and a one year high of $41.38. The stock has a market cap of $6.01 billion, a PE ratio of 13.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $37.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.60.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share (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%. Equities research analysts expect that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. Virtu Financial’s payout ratio is 32.32%.

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.