SG Americas Securities LLC Sells 53,478 Shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)

SG Americas Securities LLC cut its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) by 88.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,258 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 53,478 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $147,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Virtu Financial by 7.6% in the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 8,347,311 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $144,158,000 after purchasing an additional 588,749 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 7.5% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,834,008 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $91,363,000 after acquiring an additional 338,024 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 6.6% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,233,884 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $61,120,000 after acquiring an additional 199,963 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 59.7% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,164,023 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,272,000 after acquiring an additional 809,085 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 11.5% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,880,289 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,134,000 after acquiring an additional 194,392 shares during the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

Shares of VIRT traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $20.48. 568,107 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,069,400. The business's 50-day moving average price is $18.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.46. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.02 and a 12 month high of $21.58.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.13). Virtu Financial had a net margin of 6.22% and a return on equity of 16.94%. The company had revenue of $535.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $272.96 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.69%. Virtu Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 68.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VIRT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Virtu Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $21.00 to $22.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Virtu Financial from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.75.

Insider Activity at Virtu Financial

In related news, CEO Douglas A. Cifu acquired 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $16.21 per share, for a total transaction of $810,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 584,132 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,468,779.72. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 44.80% of the company's stock.

About Virtu Financial

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.