Old West Investment Management LLC Trims Holdings in Virtu Financial, Inc. $VIRT

Key Points

• Old West Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Virtu Financial, Inc. by 38.5% in Q1, holding approximately $15.77 million in shares after selling a significant number of them.
• Several hedge funds have modified their positions, with Brooklyn Investment Group increasing its holdings by 243% during the same period.
• Analysts have adjusted ratings and price targets for Virtu Financial, with Bank of America changing its rating from "buy" to "neutral" and setting a new price target of $43.00.

Old West Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) by 38.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 413,607 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 258,883 shares during the period. Virtu Financial comprises 5.7% of Old West Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Old West Investment Management LLC owned about 0.27% of Virtu Financial worth $15,767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in VIRT. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 243.0% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 782 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new stake in Virtu Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Virtu Financial in the first quarter worth approximately $54,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 26.0% during the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,670 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Krane Funds Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $213,000. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on VIRT. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Virtu Financial from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Virtu Financial from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up previously from $40.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $39.75.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

Shares of VIRT traded down $0.34 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $42.39. 931,773 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 943,674. The stock has a market cap of $6.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $43.22 and a 200-day moving average of $40.19. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $29.82 and a 52 week high of $45.77.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Virtu Financial's payout ratio is presently 21.82%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 90,701 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.40, for a total transaction of $3,845,722.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 47.20% of the stock is owned by company 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.