Virtu Financial, Inc. $VIRT Position Reduced by 1834 Investment Advisors Co.

Key Points

• 1834 Investment Advisors cut its stake in Virtu by 36.9%, selling 69,684 shares and leaving it with 119,271 shares worth about $3.97 million (≈0.08% of the company).
• Company insiders executed heavy sales: EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 30,000 shares and COO Joseph Molluso sold 200,000 shares, with insiders offloading a total of 270,000 shares (~$10.46M) in the last quarter; corporate insiders now own 46.7% of the stock.
• Virtu reported a strong quarter—EPS $1.85 vs. $1.12 estimate and revenue $969.9M vs. $513.5M estimate—and analysts are mixed but overall rate the stock a "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $46.00.

1834 Investment Advisors Co. reduced its position in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT - Free Report) by 36.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 119,271 shares of the company's stock after selling 69,684 shares during the period. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. owned about 0.08% of Virtu Financial worth $3,974,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Virtu Financial by 51.9% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 972 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 32.0% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the period. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 93.7% in the 3rd quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management now owns 978 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.78% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Virtu Financial

In other Virtu Financial news, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.61, for a total transaction of $1,128,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 174,561 shares in the company, valued at $6,565,239.21. This represents a 14.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Joseph Molluso sold 200,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.88, for a total value 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. This represents a 37.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 270,000 shares of company stock worth $10,458,644. Corporate insiders own 46.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Virtu Financial from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Zacks Research upgraded Virtu Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Virtu Financial from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Virtu Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.00.

Virtu Financial Stock Up 0.1%

VIRT stock opened at $48.57 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $7.51 billion, a PE ratio of 9.47, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.54. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $31.55 and a 1 year high of $52.21. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.73. The firm had revenue of $969.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $513.51 million. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 48.35%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 4.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Virtu Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.71%.

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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