Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) Shares Sold by Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS reduced its holdings in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 270 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $615,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 533.4% during the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 73,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,584,000 after purchasing an additional 61,477 shares in the last quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA purchased a new stake in Virtu Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $3,416,000. Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Virtu Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $401,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC acquired a new position in Virtu Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $344,000. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Virtu Financial by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 11,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 844 shares in the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on VIRT. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Virtu Financial from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler upped 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.36.

Insider Activity at Virtu Financial

In related news, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 34,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Brett Fairclough sold 72,967 shares of the firm’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 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 140,967 shares of company stock valued at $5,213,964. Company insiders own 46.70% of the company’s stock.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

Virtu Financial stock opened at $38.54 on Thursday. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $20.13 and a fifty-two week high of $41.38. The company has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.98, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $37.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.32%.

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.