Public Sector Pension Investment Board Increases Holdings in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in Virtu Financial by 50.4%, acquiring an additional 101,465 shares, giving it a total of 302,727 shares valued at approximately $11.54 million.
• Insiders, including COO Brett Fairclough, sold significant amounts of stock, with Fairclough selling 90,701 shares for almost $3.85 million.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Hold" on Virtu Financial, with price targets ranging from $35.00 to $48.00.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) by 50.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 302,727 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 101,465 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned approximately 0.20% of Virtu Financial worth $11,540,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new position in Virtu Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Virtu Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $54,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 26.0% in the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,670 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the period. Wexford Capital LP purchased a new stake in Virtu Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $203,000. Finally, Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Virtu Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $210,000. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Virtu Financial

In related news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 90,701 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 47.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up previously from $40.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a report on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Virtu Financial from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen cut Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Virtu Financial from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Virtu Financial from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One investment 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $39.75.

Virtu Financial Stock Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:VIRT traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $41.73. 828,303 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 949,371. The business's 50-day moving average price is $43.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.69. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.98 and a 1 year high of $45.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be issued 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 dividend yield of 2.3%. Virtu Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.82%.

Virtu Financial Company Profile

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.