28,714 Shares in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) Purchased by GSA Capital Partners LLP

Key Points

• GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired 28,714 shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. valued at approximately $1,095,000, reflecting growing interest from institutional investors.
• Virtu Financial recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24, with a current dividend yield of 2.14% and a payout ratio of 27.75%.
• The company's stock price opened at $44.77, with recent earnings showing a significant EPS of $1.65, exceeding analyst expectations of $1.01.

GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 28,714 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,095,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Penserra Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the first quarter worth $54,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Virtu Financial by 3,319.6% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 10,635 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 10,324 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. acquired a new stake in Virtu Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $231,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Virtu Financial by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 401,117 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $15,291,000 after purchasing an additional 9,569 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in Virtu Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $954,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.78% of the company's stock.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Virtu Financial stock traded down $0.84 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $43.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 847,355 shares, compared to its average volume of 957,268. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $42.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.49. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $26.50 and a one year high of $45.77. The stock has a market cap of $6.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.70.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Virtu Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.82%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John Nixon sold 6,965 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total value of $298,241.30. Following the sale, the director owned 33,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,452,582.86. This trade represents a 17.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 47.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VIRT. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $40.00 price objective (up from $38.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $43.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Virtu Financial presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $39.13.

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.