Hsbc Holdings PLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Virtu Financial, Inc. $VIRT

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings PLC cut its Virtu Financial stake by 57.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 57,863 shares and leaving it with 42,624 shares worth about $1.44 million.
• Virtu Financial reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.24 and revenue of $786.53 million, both well above analyst expectations; revenue rose 30.7% year over year.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, equivalent to an annualized yield of 1.6%, while analysts currently have a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $50.67.

Hsbc Holdings PLC lessened its stake in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT - Free Report) by 57.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 42,624 shares of the company's stock after selling 57,863 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $1,442,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VIRT. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Virtu Financial by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 12,939 shares of the company's stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC increased its position in Virtu Financial by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 8,277 shares of the company's stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in Virtu Financial by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,868 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in Virtu Financial by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 18,237 shares of the company's stock valued at $608,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 51.9% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 972 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Virtu Financial Stock Up 2.5%

NYSE:VIRT opened at $59.58 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company's fifty day moving average price is $53.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.47. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $31.55 and a 1-year high of $64.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.86, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.61.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.24 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.58. The company 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%. The firm's revenue was up 30.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 5.7 EPS for the current year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Virtu Financial's payout ratio is presently 15.89%.

Insider Transactions at Virtu Financial

In other Virtu Financial news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total value of $1,501,800.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 42,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,126,198.38. This represents a 41.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 46.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VIRT. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 30th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $51.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.67.

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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