Petrus Trust Company LTA Makes New Investment in Virtu Financial, Inc. $VIRT

Key Points

• Petrus Trust Company LTA recently acquired 7,187 shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. valued at approximately $274,000, as per their Form 13F filing with the SEC.
• Virtu Financial has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24, payable on September 15th, marking a 2.5% annual yield.
• Analyst ratings for Virtu Financial are mixed, with one firm downgrading the stock from a "buy" to a "hold," while another set a target price increase from $40 to $45.

Petrus Trust Company LTA purchased a new stake in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 7,187 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $274,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Foundry Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 18,031 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $687,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in Virtu Financial by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 33,397 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,273,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Virtu Financial by 26.0% during the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,670 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC increased its holdings in Virtu Financial by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 8,146 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in Virtu Financial by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 13,635 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $520,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $45.00 target price (up from $40.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.75.

Insider Activity

In other Virtu Financial news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 90,701 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.40, for a total value of $3,845,722.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 47.20% of the company's stock.

Virtu Financial Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of VIRT traded down $0.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $36.66. The company had a trading volume of 952,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 967,632. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $42.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $29.82 and a 1-year high of $45.77. The stock has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a PE ratio of 10.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.69.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 1st will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Virtu Financial's payout ratio is 21.82%.

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.