Stephen Cavoli Sells 34,000 Shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) Stock

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 34,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.41, for a total value of $1,271,940.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 157,703 shares in the company, valued at $5,899,669.23. This trade represents a 17.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Stephen Cavoli also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, February 14th, Stephen Cavoli sold 34,000 shares of Virtu Financial stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.88, for a total value of $1,253,920.00.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

VIRT stock opened at $38.27 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.89, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $37.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.10. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.62 and a 12-month high of $41.38.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.32. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 27.39% and a net margin of 9.61%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.32%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtu Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,794 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $100,000 after buying an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC lifted its position in Virtu Financial by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 8,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the period. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. boosted its stake in Virtu Financial by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 30,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,075,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in Virtu Financial by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 14,826 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the period. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 19,635 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $701,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares in the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VIRT shares. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Virtu Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.36.

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.