Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Cuts Stock Position in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC reduced its stake in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) by 43.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,945 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,510 shares during the quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $355,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Virtu Financial by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 391,548 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,970,000 after buying an additional 5,371 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 60.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,486 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,691,000 after acquiring an additional 20,843 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 48.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 358,065 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,907,000 after acquiring an additional 117,062 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $954,000. Finally, Moody Aldrich Partners LLC grew its holdings in Virtu Financial by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 310,751 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,088,000 after purchasing an additional 55,102 shares during the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Virtu Financial

In related news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 72,967 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.84, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 44.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Douglas A. Cifu sold 177,561 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 231,306 shares in the company, valued at $8,993,177.28. The trade was a 43.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 496,848 shares of company stock worth $18,995,338 in the last ninety days. 46.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VIRT traded up $0.78 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $41.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,107,927 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,187,816. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.55 and a 12-month high of $42.27. The company has a market cap of $6.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 1.13. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $37.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.45.

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

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Virtu Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America cut their target price on Virtu Financial from $56.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Virtu Financial from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. 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. 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 report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $37.88.

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.