Virtu Financial, Inc. $VIRT Stake Boosted by Advisors Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Virtu Financial by 8.4%, now owning 176,300 shares worth approximately $6.72 million.
• COO Brett Fairclough sold 90,701 shares of Virtu Financial for over $3.84 million on August 7th, highlighting active insider trading.
• Virtu Financial announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, with a yield of 2.6%, set to be paid on September 15th.

Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) by 8.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 176,300 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 13,699 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC owned 0.11% of Virtu Financial worth $6,721,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Penserra Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Virtu Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $54,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Virtu Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $231,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 3,319.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 10,324 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 2.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 9,569 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 92.3% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 107,761 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,108,000 after acquiring an additional 51,713 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.78% of the company's stock.

Virtu Financial Trading Down 0.0%

VIRT traded down $0.02 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $35.39. The company had a trading volume of 190,028 shares, compared to its average volume of 964,936. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $41.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.46. The company has a market cap of $5.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.23, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.69. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $29.82 and a 12-month high of $45.77. 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 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 1st were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Virtu Financial's payout ratio is currently 21.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Virtu Financial

In other Virtu Financial news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 90,701 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.40, for a total transaction of $3,845,722.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 47.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective 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. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $45.00 price objective (up previously from $40.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Virtu Financial currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.75.

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.