Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Decreases Position in Virtu Financial, Inc. $VIRT

Key Points

• Robeco reduced its stake: Robeco Institutional Asset Management cut its Q4 holding in Virtu by 27.6%, selling 88,626 shares and leaving 232,009 shares worth about $7.73 million (≈0.15% of the company).
• Significant insider selling: EVP Stephen Cavoli and COO Joseph Molluso sold large blocks in February (part of 270,000 shares sold by insiders over three months) totaling roughly $10.46 million, although insiders still own about 47.2% of the stock.
• Strong quarter but mixed analyst view: Virtu beat expectations with Q1-like results (EPS $1.85 vs $1.12 est., revenue $969.9M vs $513.5M), yet the consensus rating remains a "Hold" with a $44.43 target despite several upgrades and higher price targets (e.g., Piper Sandler $61).

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lessened its holdings in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT - Free Report) by 27.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 232,009 shares of the company's stock after selling 88,626 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned approximately 0.15% of Virtu Financial worth $7,731,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in Virtu Financial by 51.9% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 972 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in Virtu Financial by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 76,473 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,425,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Virtu Financial by 103.8% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 760 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 387 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Virtu Financial by 32.0% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the period. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management boosted its position in Virtu Financial by 93.7% in the 3rd quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management now owns 978 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 473 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.78% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 28,370 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.94, for a total value of $1,104,727.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 116,191 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,524,477.54. The trade was a 19.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Joseph Molluso sold 200,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.88, for a total transaction of $7,776,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 326,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,697,624.80. This trade represents a 37.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 270,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,458,644. 47.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VIRT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Virtu Financial from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research raised shares of Virtu Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Virtu Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $44.43.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

Virtu Financial stock opened at $50.65 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $7.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.38. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $31.55 and a 12-month high of $52.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.73. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 48.35%. The business had revenue of $969.89 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $513.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Virtu Financial's payout ratio is 18.71%.

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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