OP Asset Management Ltd Takes Position in Virtu Financial, Inc. $VIRT

Key Points

• OP Asset Management disclosed a new first-quarter position in Virtu Financial, buying 63,910 shares worth about $2.81 million.
• Virtu Financial reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.24 versus the $1.66 estimate and revenue of $786.53 million, up 30.7% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, while analyst sentiment remains mixed with an average rating of “Moderate Buy.”

OP Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 63,910 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,811,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its stake in Virtu Financial by 24.5% during the first quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 2,224 shares of the company's stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 6.3% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 208,816 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,184,000 after acquiring an additional 12,328 shares in the last quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Virtu Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $202,000. Pullen Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 62,042 shares of the company's stock worth $2,729,000 after purchasing an additional 620 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Global Investments boosted its stake in Virtu Financial by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 36,888 shares of the company's stock worth $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 5,641 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.78% of the company's stock.

Virtu Financial Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of VIRT stock opened at $60.54 on Friday. 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 has a market cap of $9.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.02, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.61. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $31.55 and a 1 year high of $64.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $53.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.08.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.58. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 51.63% and a net margin of 14.17%.The company had revenue of $786.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $613.12 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.30 earnings per share. Virtu Financial's quarterly revenue was up 30.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on VIRT shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Virtu Financial in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Virtu Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Virtu Financial from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Virtu Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $48.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total value of $1,501,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 42,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,126,198.38. This represents a 41.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 46.76% of the company's stock.

Virtu Financial 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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