UBS Group AG Lowers Stock Holdings in Virtu Financial, Inc. $VIRT

Key Points

• UBS Group AG cut its Virtu Financial stake by 32.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 100,253 shares and leaving it with 204,215 shares worth about $6.8 million.
• Virtu Financial reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.24 beating estimates by $0.58 and revenue of $786.53 million topping expectations; revenue rose 30.7% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, payable on June 15, for an annualized yield of 1.8% and a relatively low payout ratio of 15.89%.

UBS Group AG decreased its position in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT - Free Report) by 32.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 204,215 shares of the company's stock after selling 100,253 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned approximately 0.13% of Virtu Financial worth $6,804,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 51.9% during 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 in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 0.5% during 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 in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 103.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 93.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 258.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 713 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.78% of the company's stock.

Virtu Financial Trading Down 1.5%

VIRT stock opened at $54.27 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.42 billion, a PE ratio of 8.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.62. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.55 and a 12 month high of $56.48. The firm's 50-day moving average is $47.10 and its 200 day moving average is $40.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $613.12 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 30.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 5.53 EPS for the current year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. Virtu Financial's payout ratio is presently 15.89%.

Insider Activity at Virtu Financial

In other Virtu Financial news, COO Joseph Molluso sold 200,000 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $12,697,624.80. The trade was a 37.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Brett Fairclough sold 30,000 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total transaction of $1,501,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 42,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,126,198.38. This trade represents a 41.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 46.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on VIRT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Virtu Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Virtu Financial from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Virtu Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $48.67.

About Virtu Financial

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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