Horizon Investments LLC Cuts Stock Position in Virtu Financial, Inc. $VIRT

Key Points

• Horizon Investments LLC sharply reduced its Virtu Financial stake by 92.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 24,479 shares and leaving it with 2,060 shares valued at about $69,000.
• Virtu Financial reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.24 topping estimates by $0.58 and revenue rising 30.7% year over year to $786.53 million.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, payable June 15, implying an annualized yield of 1.9%; meanwhile, analysts currently rate the stock Moderate Buy on average.

Horizon Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT - Free Report) by 92.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,060 shares of the company's stock after selling 24,479 shares during the quarter. Horizon Investments LLC's holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $69,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VIRT. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its holdings in Virtu Financial by 3,460.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 712 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 258.3% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 713 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 103.8% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 760 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management grew its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 93.7% in the third quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management now owns 978 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 51.9% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 972 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.78% of the company's stock.

Virtu Financial Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of VIRT opened at $51.50 on Tuesday. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $31.55 and a 52-week high of $52.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.22. The company has a market capitalization of $7.99 billion, a PE ratio of 8.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.62.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 14.17% and a return on equity of 51.63%. The firm had revenue of $786.53 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $613.12 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. Virtu Financial's quarterly revenue was up 30.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 5.48 EPS for the current year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Virtu Financial's dividend payout ratio is 15.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on VIRT. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Virtu Financial from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Virtu Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Virtu Financial from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Virtu Financial from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Virtu Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $48.67.

Insider Transactions at Virtu Financial

In other news, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 28,370 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.94, for a total transaction of $1,104,727.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 116,191 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,524,477.54. The trade was a 19.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Joseph Molluso sold 200,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.88, for a total value of $7,776,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 326,585 shares in the company, valued at $12,697,624.80. This represents a 37.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 300,000 shares of company stock worth $11,960,444 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 46.76% of the company's stock.

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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