GLOBALT Investments LLC GA Has $5.84 Million Holdings in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)

Key Points

• GLOBALT Investments LLC increased its holdings in Virtu Financial by 60%, acquiring an additional 57,405 shares, bringing their total to 153,157 shares worth approximately $5.84 million.
• CEO Douglas A. Cifu sold 177,561 shares of Virtu Financial, a transaction reflecting a 43.43% reduction in his ownership, while insiders collectively own 47.20% of the company's stock.
• Virtu Financial reported $1.30 earnings per share for the latest quarter, surpassing analyst expectations of $0.99, while also declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share.

GLOBALT Investments LLC GA raised its stake in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) by 60.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 153,157 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 57,405 shares during the period. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA owned about 0.10% of Virtu Financial worth $5,838,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VIRT. Navellier & Associates Inc. grew its position in Virtu Financial by 27.5% during the 1st quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 30,132 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,264,000 after acquiring an additional 6,495 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 87.8% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 33,446 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,275,000 after purchasing an additional 15,640 shares during the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel acquired a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the first quarter valued at $287,000. Convergence Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Virtu Financial in the first quarter valued at about $1,725,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in Virtu Financial by 69.5% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,063,011 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,522,000 after buying an additional 435,958 shares in the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VIRT has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Virtu Financial presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.13.

Virtu Financial Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of Virtu Financial stock traded up $0.72 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $44.76. 659,568 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 952,185. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.50 and a twelve month high of $45.77. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $42.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.70.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.64. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 32.08% and a net margin of 10.43%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Virtu Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.75%.

Insider Activity at Virtu Financial

In other Virtu Financial news, Director John Nixon sold 6,965 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total transaction of $298,241.30. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 33,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,452,582.86. The trade was a 17.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 47.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.