Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) Shares Sold by Caxton Associates LP

Caxton Associates LP lowered its stake in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) by 32.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 65,999 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 31,851 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LP's holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $2,355,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Virtu Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in 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 purchased a new stake in Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.78% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Virtu Financial news, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 34,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.88, for a total transaction of $1,253,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 191,703 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,070,006.64. This trade represents a 15.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Douglas A. Cifu sold 178,320 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.57, for a total transaction of $6,877,802.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 408,867 shares of the company's stock, 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 496,848 shares of company stock worth $18,995,338. Company insiders own 47.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Virtu Financial from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $56.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up from $38.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Virtu Financial presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $37.88.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

Shares of Virtu Financial stock traded up $0.86 during trading on Thursday, reaching $42.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 761,847 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,189,156. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $37.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.65. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.55 and a 12-month high of $42.89. The company has a market capitalization of $6.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.31. The company 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 was up 30.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. Virtu Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.75%.

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.