Virtu Financial, Inc. $VIRT Shares Acquired by AlphaQuest LLC

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC has increased its stake in Virtu Financial by 151.2% in the first quarter, now owning 11,810 shares valued at $450,000.
• The company's stock is trading at $43.18, with a 52-week range between $29.74 and $45.77, and it recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share.
• Analysts have mixed views on the stock, with Morgan Stanley lowering its price target to $35.00 while Piper Sandler has set a higher target of $48.00.

AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) by 151.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,810 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,108 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $450,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Virtu Financial by 1.8% in 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 during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew 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 worth $56,157,000 after purchasing an additional 670,774 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew 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 worth $51,696,000 after purchasing an additional 471,526 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter worth $39,993,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew 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 worth $40,522,000 after purchasing an additional 435,958 shares during the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Virtu Financial news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 90,701 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.40, for a total value of $3,845,722.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 47.20% of the company's stock.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VIRT traded down $0.55 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $41.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 994,469 shares, compared to its average volume of 943,983. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $29.82 and a 1 year 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 stock has a market cap of $6.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.09, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.69. The business's fifty day moving average is $43.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.33.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Virtu Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $45.00 price target (up from $40.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a report on Monday, August 4th. 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 boosted their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Piper Sandler boosted 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $39.75.

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.