Two Sigma Investments LP Boosts Holdings in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)

Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) by 9.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 834,400 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 73,304 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP owned 0.54% of Virtu Financial worth $29,771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Virtu Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Virtu Financial by 172.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 870 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares in the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Virtu Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. 45.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Virtu Financial Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ VIRT traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $40.75. The stock had a trading volume of 724,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,189,265. The business's 50 day moving average is $38.95 and its 200-day moving average is $37.50. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.55 and a 52 week high of $44.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a market cap of $6.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.72, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.68.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.31. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 27.39% and a net margin of 9.61%. The business had revenue of $497.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $444.23 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 30.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Virtu Financial's payout ratio is currently 27.75%.

Insider Activity at Virtu Financial

In other news, Director John Nixon sold 6,965 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total transaction of $298,241.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 33,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,452,582.86. The trade was a 17.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Douglas A. Cifu sold 178,320 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.57, for a total transaction of $6,877,802.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 408,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,770,000.19. This trade represents a 30.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 362,846 shares of company stock valued at $14,079,615 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 47.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VIRT. Bank of America downgraded shares of Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $43.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up previously from $38.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "underweight" 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 report on Saturday. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Virtu Financial from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $37.25.

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.