Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) Shares Purchased by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) by 48.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,448,866 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 471,526 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 0.94% of Virtu Financial worth $51,696,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 172.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 870 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 551 shares in the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. 45.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VIRT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America lowered their price target on Virtu Financial from $56.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $40.00 price objective (up from $38.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Virtu Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $37.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 72,967 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.84, for a total value of $2,688,104.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 90,749 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,343,193.16. The trade was a 44.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Douglas A. Cifu sold 178,320 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.57, for a total value of $6,877,802.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 408,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,770,000.19. The trade was a 30.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 496,848 shares of company stock valued at $18,995,338 over the last 90 days. 47.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

Shares of Virtu Financial stock traded up $0.67 on Friday, hitting $43.15. 910,969 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,189,387. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.55 and a 1-year high of $43.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $37.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.72.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $497.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $444.23 million. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 9.61% and a return on equity of 27.39%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 30.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.76 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

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

Virtu Financial Company 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.