Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in Virtu Financial, Inc. $VIRT

Key Points

• Robertson Stephens Wealth Management initiated a new position in Virtu Financial, buying 74,707 shares (~$2.49M) in Q4, and several other institutions also added positions as institutional ownership stands at about 45.78%.
• Virtu reported a strong quarter—EPS $2.24 vs. $1.66 expected and revenue of $786.5M (up 30.7% y/y)—and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share (annualized $0.96, ~2.0% yield).
• Company insiders have sold a total of 270,000 shares (~$10.46M) in the last three months (including the COO’s 200,000-share sale), while analysts maintain a consensus of “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of about $48.67.

Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 74,707 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,489,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VIRT. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 1,624.1% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 942 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in shares of Virtu Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $222,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Virtu Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $1,934,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 13.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 226,233 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,624,000 after buying an additional 26,743 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning acquired a new position in shares of Virtu Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $235,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.78% of the company's stock.

Virtu Financial Trading Down 3.0%

VIRT opened at $48.17 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.62. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.55 and a 12 month high of $52.21. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $44.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.24 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.58. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 14.17% and a return on equity of 51.63%. The business had revenue of $786.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $613.12 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 30.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Virtu Financial's payout ratio is 15.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VIRT. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. 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. Zacks Research raised shares of Virtu Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of 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 given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $48.67.

Insider Activity

In other Virtu Financial news, COO Joseph Molluso sold 200,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.88, for a total value of $7,776,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 326,585 shares in the company, valued at $12,697,624.80. This trade represents a 37.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 28,370 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 116,191 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,524,477.54. This represents a 19.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 270,000 shares of company stock worth $10,458,644 over the last three months. Insiders own 47.20% of the company's stock.

Virtu Financial Company 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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