Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC Grows Position in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its stake in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) by 42.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,830 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 15,861 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC's holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $1,885,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VIRT. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Virtu Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Virtu Financial by 172.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 870 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares during the period. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.78% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Virtu Financial

In related news, CEO Douglas A. Cifu sold 177,561 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.88, for a total transaction of $6,903,571.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 231,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,993,177.28. This trade represents a 43.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Brett Fairclough sold 72,967 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.84, for a total transaction of $2,688,104.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 90,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,343,193.16. The trade was a 44.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 496,848 shares of company stock valued at $18,995,338. 47.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Virtu Financial Stock Up 1.6 %

Virtu Financial stock traded up $0.67 during trading on Friday, hitting $43.15. 910,969 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,189,387. The company has a market capitalization of $6.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.53, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.68. The business's 50 day moving average is $37.77 and its 200 day moving average is $36.72. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.55 and a 52 week high of $43.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.31. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 9.61% and a return on equity of 27.39%. The company had revenue of $497.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $444.23 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.76 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 30.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Virtu Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VIRT. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up previously from $38.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Virtu Financial from $56.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Virtu Financial from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $37.88.

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.