Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Raises Stock Holdings in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)

Key Points

• Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in Virtu Financial by 60.6%, owning 117,253 shares worth approximately $4.27 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Virtu Financial has a quarterly dividend of $0.24, translating to an annual yield of 2.21% and a payout ratio of 27.75%.
• Recent analysts' ratings show a consensus rating of "Hold" for Virtu Financial, with target prices ranging from $35 to $48.

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its position in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) by 60.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 117,253 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 44,250 shares during the quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd owned about 0.08% of Virtu Financial worth $4,270,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Virtu Financial by 28.2% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,375,783 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $227,488,000 after acquiring an additional 1,401,688 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings 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 worth $51,696,000 after acquiring an additional 471,526 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Virtu Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $39,993,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings 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 worth $40,522,000 after acquiring an additional 435,958 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Virtu Financial by 180.0% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 948,590 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,846,000 after buying an additional 609,821 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.78% of the company's stock.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

Shares of VIRT stock traded down $0.84 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $43.30. 847,355 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 957,268. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.50 and a 12-month high of $45.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The company has a market cap of $6.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $42.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.76.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 1st will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Virtu Financial's payout ratio is currently 21.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John Nixon sold 6,965 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total value of $298,241.30. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 33,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,452,582.86. The trade was a 17.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 47.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on VIRT. Wall Street Zen lowered Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Virtu Financial from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Virtu Financial from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Virtu Financial from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $40.00 price target (up from $38.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.13.

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.