Virtu Financial, Inc. $VIRT Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard trimmed its stake in Virtu by 2.3% in Q4, selling 228,420 shares and holding 9,771,208 shares (6.39% of the company) valued at about $325.6 million.
• Significant insider selling: insiders sold 270,000 shares in the last 90 days, including COO Joseph Molluso's 200,000‑share sale at $38.88 ($7.776M); insiders now own about 47.20% of the stock.
• Strong quarterly results and dividend: Virtu beat estimates with $2.24 EPS (vs. $1.66 expected) and $786.5M revenue (+30.7% YoY), announced a $0.24 quarterly dividend (1.9% yield), and analysts have raised price targets to a consensus of $48.67.

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT - Free Report) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,771,208 shares of the company's stock after selling 228,420 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 6.39% of Virtu Financial worth $325,577,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VIRT. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Virtu Financial by 64.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,370,400 shares of the company's stock worth $84,149,000 after buying an additional 926,376 shares during the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $19,102,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 53.1% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,367,583 shares of the company's stock worth $48,549,000 after purchasing an additional 474,177 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 457.9% during the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 337,662 shares of the company's stock worth $11,987,000 after purchasing an additional 277,133 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 128.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 431,145 shares of the company's stock worth $15,306,000 after purchasing an additional 242,611 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.78% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Virtu Financial news, COO Joseph Molluso sold 200,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.88, for a total transaction of $7,776,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 326,585 shares in the company, valued at $12,697,624.80. This represents a 37.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 28,370 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.94, for a total value of $1,104,727.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 116,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,524,477.54. This trade represents a 19.62% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 270,000 shares of company stock worth $10,458,644. 47.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Virtu Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Virtu Financial from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Virtu Financial from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Virtu Financial from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Virtu Financial from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $48.67.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Virtu Financial stock opened at $49.47 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $45.18 and a 200 day moving average of $38.97. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.55 and a 12 month high of $52.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.58. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 51.63% and a net margin of 14.17%.The company had revenue of $786.53 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $613.12 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.30 EPS. Virtu Financial's revenue for the quarter was up 30.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Virtu Financial's dividend payout ratio is 15.89%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VIRT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.