Virtu Financial, Inc. $VIRT Shares Purchased by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Virtu Financial by 1.8%, owning approximately 6.21% of the company, valued at around $364.75 million.
• Various institutional investors have recently adjusted their positions in Virtu Financial, with total institutional ownership at about 45.78% of the company's stock.
• Virtu Financial declared a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.3%, to be paid on September 15th.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) by 1.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,568,548 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 165,396 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 6.21% of Virtu Financial worth $364,753,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Virtu Financial by 48.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,448,866 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $51,696,000 after buying an additional 471,526 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Virtu Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,993,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in Virtu Financial by 69.5% in the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,063,011 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,522,000 after buying an additional 435,958 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Virtu Financial by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 930,110 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,856,000 after acquiring an additional 95,692 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Virtu Financial by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 874,770 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,212,000 after acquiring an additional 213,013 shares during the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on VIRT. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. 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 shares of Virtu Financial from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $43.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Virtu Financial presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $39.75.

Virtu Financial Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ VIRT traded up $0.1250 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $41.5350. 550,592 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 946,297. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.00, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.49. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $29.59 and a twelve month high of $45.77.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 currently 21.82%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 90,701 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.40, for a total transaction of $3,845,722.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 47.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.