Fulcrum Asset Management LLP Acquires 215,850 Shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. $VIRT

Key Points

• Fulcrum Asset Management increased its Virtu Financial stake by 730% in the third quarter, adding 215,850 shares to own 245,420 shares worth about $13.2 million.
• Virtu reported quarterly EPS of $1.77, beating the $1.52 consensus, while revenue of $956.4 million exceeded estimates and rose 147.1% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, or $0.96 annualized, representing a stated yield of 1.8%.

Fulcrum Asset Management LLP increased its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT - Free Report) by 730.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 245,420 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 215,850 shares during the period. Virtu Financial makes up 0.6% of Fulcrum Asset Management LLP's holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP owned approximately 0.16% of Virtu Financial worth $13,191,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VIRT. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in Virtu Financial by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 18,781 shares of the company's stock worth $1,036,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Independent Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Legacy Financial Independent Advisors LLC now owns 11,128 shares of the company's stock valued at $614,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 16.3% during the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,679 shares of the company's stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,310 shares of the company's stock valued at $376,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the period. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 34,568 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,520,000 after buying an additional 362 shares during the period. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Joseph Grano, Jr. sold 8,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $511,896.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 33,814 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,060,625.16. The trade was a 19.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John Nixon sold 9,094 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.13, for a total transaction of $546,822.22. Following the transaction, the director owned 30,902 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,858,137.26. This represents a 22.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 46.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Virtu Financial Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of VIRT opened at $54.05 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.55 and a 12 month high of $68.76. The stock's 50 day moving average is $57.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.43. The firm has a market cap of $8.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.94, a PEG ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 0.67.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $1.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $956.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $647.02 million. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 49.68% and a net margin of 14.20%. The business's revenue was up 147.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 6.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Virtu Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.10%.

Key Virtu Financial News

Here are the key news stories impacting Virtu Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 earnings were $1.77 per share, ahead of the $1.52 analyst consensus, while revenue of $956.4 million substantially exceeded estimates of about $647 million and rose 147.1% year over year. The earnings beat and sharp revenue growth may support investor optimism. Virtu Financial Surpasses Q3 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Virtu maintained its quarterly dividend at $0.24 per share, equivalent to $0.96 annually and a stated yield of 1.8%. It also outlined a near-term trading-capital goal of around $4 billion or more; the available report does not detail the expected financial impact of that target. Virtu outlines trading capital goal and dividend

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VIRT. Evercore upgraded Virtu Financial to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Zacks Research cut Virtu Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Virtu Financial from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $84.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Virtu Financial in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Virtu Financial in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Virtu Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $68.25.

About Virtu Financial

Virtu Financial, Inc is a financial technology firm and electronic market maker that provides liquidity across a range of global financial markets. The company uses technology and quantitative analysis to facilitate trading in asset classes including equities, exchange-traded funds, options, futures, currencies, fixed income and commodities.

In addition to market making, Virtu offers execution services and trading technology for institutional investors, broker-dealers and other market participants.

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