Lazard Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) by 38.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,098 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 17,602 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $1,001,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Virtu Financial by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,794 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $100,000 after buying an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC grew its stake in Virtu Financial by 4.2% in the 4th 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 stake in Virtu Financial by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 14,826 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $516,000 after buying an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Virtu Financial by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 19,635 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $701,000 after buying an additional 426 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Virtu Financial by 172.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 870 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 551 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.78% of the company's stock.
Virtu Financial Stock Performance
NASDAQ VIRT opened at $42.14 on Tuesday. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $21.55 and a 52-week high of $44.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $6.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a fifty day moving average of $38.49 and a 200-day moving average of $37.25.
Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.31. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 9.61% and a return on equity of 27.39%. The company had revenue of $497.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $444.23 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 30.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Virtu Financial Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Virtu Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.75%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research firms recently weighed in on VIRT. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America lowered shares of Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $43.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up from $38.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $37.25.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on VIRT
Insider Transactions at Virtu Financial
In other news, CEO Douglas A. Cifu sold 178,320 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.57, for a total transaction of $6,877,802.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 408,867 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,770,000.19. The trade was a 30.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John Nixon sold 6,965 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total transaction of $298,241.30. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 33,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,452,582.86. This represents a 17.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 362,846 shares of company stock valued at $14,079,615. Insiders own 47.20% of the company's stock.
Virtu Financial Company Profile
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Free Report)
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.
See Also
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VIRT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report).
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