Ieq Capital LLC Has $814,000 Stake in Virtu Financial, Inc. $VIRT

Key Points

• Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in Virtu Financial by 74.2% during the first quarter, accumulating a total of 21,353 shares valued at $814,000.
• Virtu Financial announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.3%, set to be paid on September 15th.
• Analyst ratings for Virtu Financial show a consensus of "Hold" with a target price of $39.75, following various upgrades and downgrades from firms like Piper Sandler and Bank of America.

Ieq Capital LLC raised its position in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) by 74.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,353 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 9,093 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $814,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 1.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,568,548 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $364,753,000 after purchasing an additional 165,396 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 83.6% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,473,165 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $56,157,000 after buying an additional 670,774 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 48.2% in the fourth 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 during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,993,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 69.5% in the first 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 during the period. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

Shares of VIRT traded down $1.61 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $38.82. The stock had a trading volume of 1,806,122 shares, compared to its average volume of 950,748. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.39. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $29.82 and a one year high of $45.77. The firm has a market cap of $5.93 billion, a PE ratio of 11.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Virtu Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VIRT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America lowered shares of Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $43.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $45.00 target price (up previously from $40.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $39.75.

Insider Activity at Virtu Financial

In related news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 90,701 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction dated 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 hyperlink. 47.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Virtu Financial 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.