18,752 Shares in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) Purchased by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has purchased 18,752 shares of Virtu Financial, valued at approximately $715,000, as part of its first quarter investments.
• A quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share has been announced, with an expected annual yield of 2.3% for stockholders of record on September 1st.
• Virtu Financial's stock has fluctuated between a 12-month low of $27.50 and a high of $45.77, currently trading at around $42.40.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 18,752 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $715,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VIRT. FMR LLC boosted its position in Virtu Financial by 28.2% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,375,783 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $227,488,000 after purchasing an additional 1,401,688 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,993,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 48.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,448,866 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $51,696,000 after buying an additional 471,526 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in Virtu Financial by 69.5% in the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,063,011 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,522,000 after acquiring an additional 435,958 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Virtu Financial in the 4th quarter worth $12,018,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.78% of the company's stock.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VIRT traded down $0.49 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $42.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 763,979 shares, compared to its average volume of 955,078. The company has a market cap of $6.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.69. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $27.50 and a 12-month high of $45.77. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $42.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.49.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Virtu Financial's payout ratio is currently 21.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Virtu Financial from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Bank of America cut Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $43.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Virtu Financial

In other news, Director John Nixon sold 6,965 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total value of $298,241.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 33,923 shares in the company, valued at $1,452,582.86. This represents a 17.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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.