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

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 243.0% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 782 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new position in Virtu Financial in the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in Virtu Financial by 1,624.1% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 942 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Virtu Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 26.0% in the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,670 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.78% of the company's stock.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

VIRT stock traded down $0.43 during trading on Friday, hitting $36.66. The stock had a trading volume of 952,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 967,632. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $29.82 and a twelve month high of $45.77. The company's 50-day moving average price is $42.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.59, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.69.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Virtu Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on VIRT. Wall Street Zen lowered Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Virtu Financial from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $45.00 target price (up from $40.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Virtu Financial from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Virtu Financial Company 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.