Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Sells 75,490 Shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. $VIRT

Key Points

• Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd sharply reduced its stake in Virtu Financial, selling 75,490 shares in the first quarter and cutting its position by 75.6% to 24,355 shares worth about $1.07 million.
• Virtu Financial reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.24 versus the $1.66 estimate and revenue of $786.53 million, up 30.7% year over year.
• Analysts remain mixed but generally constructive: the stock carries a Moderate Buy consensus with a target price of $53.67, while shares recently traded near $65.83 after a 1.5% decline.

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd trimmed its position in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT - Free Report) by 75.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,355 shares of the company's stock after selling 75,490 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd's holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $1,071,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Virtu Financial by 103.8% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 760 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 480.6% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 836 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 692 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 51.9% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 972 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Virtu Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 1,624.1% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 942 shares during the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on VIRT. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Virtu Financial from $39.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler lifted their target price 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. boosted their target price on Virtu Financial from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research upgraded Virtu Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Virtu Financial from $51.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $53.67.

Virtu Financial Trading Down 1.5%

NYSE:VIRT traded down $0.99 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $65.83. 1,049,473 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,226,524. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $31.55 and a 52 week high of $68.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.90, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.58. The firm's 50 day moving average is $56.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.06.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.58. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 51.63% and a net margin of 14.17%.The business had revenue of $786.53 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $613.12 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.30 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 30.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. Virtu Financial's dividend payout ratio is 15.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 30,000 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total transaction of $1,501,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 42,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,126,198.38. This trade represents a 41.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 46.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Virtu Financial Company Profile

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.

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