HBW Advisory Services LLC Raises Stake in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)

HBW Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) by 103.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,201 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,227 shares during the quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $618,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Virtu Financial by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,794 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. Mariner LLC boosted its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 8,074 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in Virtu Financial by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 14,826 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 392 shares during the period. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 19,635 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $701,000 after acquiring an additional 426 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 172.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 870 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.78% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VIRT. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $40.00 price target (up previously from $38.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen cut Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Virtu Financial from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $37.25.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

Shares of VIRT traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $40.88. 931,640 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,180,190. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $21.59 and a 52-week high of $44.58. The company has a market cap of $6.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.76, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.77.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.31. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 27.39% and a net margin of 9.61%. The firm had revenue of $497.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $444.23 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. Virtu Financial's quarterly revenue was up 30.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Virtu Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.75%.

Insider Activity at Virtu Financial

In related news, Director John Nixon sold 6,965 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total transaction of $298,241.30. Following the sale, the director now owns 33,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,452,582.86. This trade represents a 17.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Douglas A. Cifu sold 178,320 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.57, for a total value of $6,877,802.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 408,867 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,770,000.19. This trade represents a 30.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 362,846 shares of company stock valued at $14,079,615. 47.20% of the stock is owned by 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.