HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 64,241 Shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. $VIRT

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC cut its Virtu Financial stake by 68.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 64,241 shares and leaving it with 28,936 shares valued at about $964,000.
• Virtu Financial recently posted a strong quarter, with EPS of $2.24 versus estimates of $1.66 and revenue of $786.53 million, up 30.7% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, payable June 15, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $48.67.

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT - Free Report) by 68.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,936 shares of the company's stock after selling 64,241 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of VIRT. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 1,624.1% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,000 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 942 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $222,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,934,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 226,233 shares of the company's stock worth $8,624,000 after acquiring an additional 26,743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning bought a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $235,000. Institutional investors own 45.78% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on VIRT. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Virtu Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Virtu Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.67.

Insider Transactions at Virtu Financial

In related news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total transaction of $1,501,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 42,473 shares in the company, valued at $2,126,198.38. The trade was a 41.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 46.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Virtu Financial Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of Virtu Financial stock opened at $52.15 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $31.55 and a 12-month high of $56.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.63, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.61. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $49.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.51.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.58. The business had revenue of $786.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $613.12 million. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 14.17% and a return on equity of 51.63%. Virtu Financial's revenue for the quarter was up 30.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.30 EPS. Analysts predict that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 5.53 EPS for the current year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Virtu Financial's payout ratio is currently 15.89%.

Virtu Financial Company Profile

Virtu Financial, Inc is a technology-driven electronic trading firm and market maker that provides liquidity and price discovery across a wide range of financial instruments. Leveraging advanced analytics, high-performance computing and proprietary algorithms, Virtu operates in equities, fixed income, foreign exchange, commodities and derivative products. Its technology platform is designed to capture bid-ask spreads in real time, manage risk through automated controls and adapt to changing market conditions.

The company offers a suite of execution services and market-making solutions to institutional clients such as asset managers, banks, broker-dealers and hedge funds.

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