Burney Co. Takes $1.32 Million Position in Virtu Financial, Inc. $VIRT

Key Points

• Burney Co. opened a new position in Virtu Financial during the first quarter, buying 30,087 shares valued at about $1.32 million.
• Virtu Financial delivered strong quarterly results, posting $2.24 EPS versus $1.66 expected and revenue of $786.53 million, well above analyst estimates.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but constructive, with the stock carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $50.67, while the shares recently traded up 1.8% to $64.37.

Burney Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 30,087 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,323,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Virtu Financial by 64.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,370,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,149,000 after acquiring an additional 926,376 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 290.3% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,132,346 shares of the company's stock worth $37,730,000 after purchasing an additional 842,247 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 565.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 815,143 shares of the company's stock worth $27,161,000 after purchasing an additional 692,643 shares during the period. Algebris UK Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $22,377,000. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $19,102,000. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on VIRT shares. Zacks Research raised Virtu Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Virtu Financial in a report on Friday, May 29th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $51.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.67.

Virtu Financial Stock Up 1.8%

VIRT opened at $64.37 on Thursday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $55.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $9.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.58. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.55 and a 12 month high of $64.88.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.58. The company had revenue of $786.53 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $613.12 million. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 51.63% and a net margin of 14.17%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 30.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Virtu Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.89%.

Insider Activity at Virtu Financial

In other Virtu Financial news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total transaction of $1,501,800.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 42,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,126,198.38. The trade was a 41.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 46.76% of the company's stock.

Virtu Financial Profile

Virtu Financial, Inc is a technology-driven electronic trading firm and market maker that provides liquidity and price discovery across a wide range of financial instruments. Leveraging advanced analytics, high-performance computing and proprietary algorithms, Virtu operates in equities, fixed income, foreign exchange, commodities and derivative products. Its technology platform is designed to capture bid-ask spreads in real time, manage risk through automated controls and adapt to changing market conditions.

The company offers a suite of execution services and market-making solutions to institutional clients such as asset managers, banks, broker-dealers and hedge funds.

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