Virtu Financial, Inc. $VIRT Shares Sold by American Century Companies Inc.

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. reduced its holdings in Virtu Financial, Inc. by 40.3% in the first quarter, leaving them with shares worth $519,000.
• Several institutional investors increased their positions in Virtu Financial, including BOKF NA, which lifted its holdings by 9,018.5% in the fourth quarter.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Virtu Financial, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price of $39.75.

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its stake in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) by 40.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,609 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 9,180 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.'s holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $519,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VIRT. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Virtu Financial by 83.6% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,473,165 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $56,157,000 after acquiring an additional 670,774 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Virtu Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $18,956,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in Virtu Financial by 69.5% in the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,063,011 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,522,000 after acquiring an additional 435,958 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Virtu Financial by 4,474.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 260,131 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,916,000 after acquiring an additional 254,445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in Virtu Financial by 64.0% in the 1st quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 491,339 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $18,730,000 after acquiring an additional 191,741 shares in the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VIRT. Bank of America downgraded Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $43.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Virtu Financial from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $45.00 price objective (up from $40.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Virtu Financial from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $39.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 90,701 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 46.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Virtu Financial Stock Down 4.0%

VIRT stock traded down $1.56 during trading on Thursday, hitting $37.05. 1,989,889 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 967,721. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $42.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.71, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.69. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $29.82 and a 52-week high of $45.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

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

About Virtu Financial

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.