HighTower Advisors LLC Has $5.13 Million Stock Holdings in Virtu Financial, Inc. $VIRT

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC has increased its stake in Virtu Financial, Inc. by 24.3%, now owning 134,582 shares worth approximately $5.13 million.
• Virtu Financial recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, equating to an annual yield of 2.3%.
• Wall Street analysts generally maintain a consensus rating of "Hold" for Virtu Financial, with a price target averaging $39.75.

HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) by 24.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 134,582 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 26,283 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.09% of Virtu Financial worth $5,130,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VIRT. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Virtu Financial by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 14,826 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Virtu Financial by 185.9% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 158,655 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,661,000 after purchasing an additional 103,169 shares during the period. Mariner LLC lifted its stake in Virtu Financial by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 8,074 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $316,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 1,358.7% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 329,738 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,765,000 after acquiring an additional 307,133 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.78% of the company's stock.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

Shares of Virtu Financial stock traded up $0.3280 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $42.3780. The company had a trading volume of 784,266 shares, compared to its average volume of 944,016. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $6.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.15. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $29.74 and a 1-year high of $45.77.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VIRT. Piper Sandler lifted their target price 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price 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. Bank of America cut shares of Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $43.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $45.00 target price (up previously from $40.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $39.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Virtu Financial

In related news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 90,701 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 47.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.