Gratus Capital LLC Acquires 46,719 Shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)

Gratus Capital LLC raised its holdings in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 832,529 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 46,719 shares during the quarter. Gratus Capital LLC owned about 0.52% of Virtu Financial worth $16,867,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 0.5% in the third quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 171,087 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,955,000 after purchasing an additional 848 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 112.3% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,131 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,127 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 1.6% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 85,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,483,000 after purchasing an additional 1,388 shares in the last quarter. Dfpg Investments LLC lifted its stake in Virtu Financial by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Dfpg Investments LLC now owns 43,632 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $884,000 after acquiring an additional 2,477 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 18.4% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 18,611 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 2,889 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.78% of the company's stock.

Virtu Financial Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ VIRT traded up $0.50 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $23.01. 821,825 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,069,345. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $20.67 and a 200 day moving average of $19.17. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.02 and a 1 year high of $23.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.38.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, June 1st will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. Virtu Financial's payout ratio is currently 67.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on VIRT shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Virtu Financial from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $22.50 to $24.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $20.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Virtu Financial from $19.20 to $21.70 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Virtu Financial from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Virtu Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $22.24.

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.

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