Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) Shares Sold by Moody Aldrich Partners LLC

Moody Aldrich Partners LLC decreased its position in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) by 35.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 200,935 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 109,816 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial makes up about 1.6% of Moody Aldrich Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC owned 0.13% of Virtu Financial worth $7,660,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new position in Virtu Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 551 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Huntington National Bank grew its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 528.9% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,182 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 2,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 2,749.7% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 4,702 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $168,000 after acquiring an additional 4,537 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.78% of the company's stock.

Virtu Financial Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Virtu Financial stock opened at $44.51 on Friday. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $21.59 and a one year high of $44.96. The company has a market cap of $6.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.86, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $41.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.58.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $497.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $444.23 million. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 32.08%. The business's revenue was up 30.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.76 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. Virtu Financial's payout ratio is 27.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Douglas A. Cifu sold 178,320 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.57, for a total value of $6,877,802.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 408,867 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,770,000.19. This trade represents a 30.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John Nixon sold 6,965 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $1,452,582.86. This represents a 17.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 362,846 shares of company stock valued at $14,079,615. Company insiders own 47.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VIRT has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $40.00 price objective (up from $38.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating 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 given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $37.25.

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.

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