Caxton Associates LLP Takes $1.66 Million Position in Virtu Financial, Inc. $VIRT

Key Points

• Caxton Associates LLP has acquired 43,430 shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ: VIRT), valued at approximately $1.66 million, reinforcing institutional interest in the company.
• Virtu Financial's analyst ratings are mixed, with Bank of America downgrading the stock to "neutral" and setting a target price of $43.00, while Piper Sandler upgraded their target price to $48.00.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, scheduled for payment on September 15th, reflecting an annual yield of 2.5%.

Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 43,430 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,656,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in VIRT. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 83.6% during the first 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 during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $18,956,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 50.9% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,320,356 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $49,764,000 after acquiring an additional 445,586 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 69.5% during the first 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 during the period. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $9,918,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.78% of the company's stock.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

Virtu Financial stock traded down $0.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $36.66. The company had a trading volume of 952,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 967,632. 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 52 week low of $29.82 and a 52 week high of $45.77. The company has a 50 day moving average of $42.45 and a 200-day moving average of $40.42. The firm has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.59, a PEG 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Virtu Financial's dividend payout ratio is 21.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Virtu Financial news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 90,701 shares of the 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 46.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America lowered shares of Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $43.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley upped 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, UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up previously from $40.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Two 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Virtu Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.