Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) Shares Acquired by Bridgewater Associates LP

Bridgewater Associates LP raised its position in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) by 115.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 115,699 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 61,914 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP owned about 0.07% of Virtu Financial worth $4,128,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VIRT. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Virtu Financial by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,794 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 8,074 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 30,132 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,075,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 14,826 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $516,000 after acquiring an additional 392 shares during the period. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 19,635 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $701,000 after acquiring an additional 426 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VIRT. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Virtu Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $26.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on Virtu Financial from $56.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $32.21.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

VIRT stock traded up $0.42 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $39.01. The company had a trading volume of 885,573 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,190,732. The firm has a market cap of $6.04 billion, a PE ratio of 13.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.71. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.92 and a 1-year high of $41.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $36.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.05. 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 - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 expect that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Virtu Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Virtu Financial news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 72,967 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.84, for a total transaction of $2,688,104.28. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 90,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,343,193.16. This represents a 44.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 34,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.88, for a total value of $1,253,920.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 191,703 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,070,006.64. This trade represents a 15.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 140,967 shares of company stock worth $5,213,964 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 46.70% of the company's stock.

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.