Virtu Financial, Inc. $VIRT Shares Sold by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

Key Points

• KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS has reduced its ownership in Virtu Financial by 26.3%, holding 24,400 shares worth approximately $1.09 million after selling 8,700 shares in Q2.
• Despite recent sales, institutional investors own 45.78% of Virtu Financial's stock, indicating significant institutional interest in the company.
• Virtu Financial announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, equating to an annual yield of 2.9%, with a payout ratio of 21.82%.

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lowered its stake in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) by 26.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,400 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,700 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $1,093,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 10,002 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC lifted its stake in Virtu Financial by 1.5% during the first quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 18,031 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $687,000 after buying an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Virtu Financial by 26.0% during the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,670 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC lifted its stake in Virtu Financial by 4.6% during the first quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 8,146 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in Virtu Financial by 2.7% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 13,635 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $520,000 after buying an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 90,701 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.40, for a total value of $3,845,722.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 47.20% of the company's stock.

Virtu Financial Trading Up 1.7%

NASDAQ:VIRT opened at $33.54 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $38.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.11. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $29.82 and a 52 week high of $45.77. The company has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.49.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 32.08% and a net margin of 10.43%.The firm had revenue of $274.00 million for the quarter. On average, research analysts forecast that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 1st were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Virtu Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on VIRT shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $48.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective 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. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $45.00 price objective (up from $40.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a research note on Monday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $41.43.

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.

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