Virtu Financial, Inc. $VIRT Shares Sold by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

Key Points

• State of Alaska Department of Revenue cut its Virtu Financial stake by 42.3% in the third quarter, selling 21,952 shares and retaining 29,926 shares valued at approximately $1.65 million.
• Other major institutional investors, including Allspring, Wellington Management and Bank of America, increased their positions; institutional investors collectively own 45.78% of Virtu Financial.
• Virtu reported quarterly EPS of $1.82, slightly above estimates, and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share. Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $63.60.

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lessened its holdings in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT - Free Report) by 42.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,926 shares of the company's stock after selling 21,952 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue's holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $1,650,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Virtu Financial by 41.9% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,928,509 shares of the company's stock worth $85,607,000 after purchasing an additional 569,057 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Virtu Financial by 1.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,920,590 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,458,000 after buying an additional 19,888 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 39.8% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 782,114 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,591,000 after buying an additional 222,859 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 115.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 672,405 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,572,000 after buying an additional 360,288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 0.7% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 628,693 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,650,000 after buying an additional 4,183 shares during the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Virtu Financial Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE:VIRT opened at $56.55 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $59.60 and a 200 day moving average of $56.62. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $31.55 and a 52 week high of $68.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.65.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.81 by $0.01. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 13.50% and a return on equity of 49.06%. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $687.23 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 6.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 1st. Virtu Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.95%.

Insider Transactions at Virtu Financial

In other news, Director John Nixon sold 9,094 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.13, for a total transaction of $546,822.22. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 30,902 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,858,137.26. The trade was a 22.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Grano, Jr. sold 8,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $511,896.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 33,814 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,060,625.16. This trade represents a 19.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 46.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on VIRT shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Evercore upgraded Virtu Financial to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Virtu Financial in a report on Friday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Virtu Financial from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $84.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Virtu Financial from $51.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.60.

About Virtu Financial

Virtu Financial, Inc is a global financial services company that provides liquidity, trading, and technology solutions to the financial markets. Through its market-making business, Virtu facilitates trading in a broad range of products, including equities, exchange-traded funds, options, fixed income, foreign exchange, commodities, and certain digital assets.

The company also operates an execution services business that provides trading and workflow technology to institutional investors, asset managers, broker-dealers, and other financial institutions.

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