Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) Shares Purchased by Navellier & Associates Inc.

Navellier & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) by 66.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,448 shares during the period. Navellier & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $843,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Virtu Financial by 38.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,974,095 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $151,511,000 after buying an additional 1,368,419 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Virtu Financial during the third quarter worth about $29,815,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Virtu Financial by 28.3% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 834,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,027,000 after buying an additional 183,823 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Virtu Financial by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 391,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,970,000 after buying an additional 5,371 shares during the period. Finally, Portolan Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Virtu Financial during the third quarter worth about $11,918,000. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Virtu Financial Trading Down 4.5 %

NASDAQ VIRT opened at $35.39 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 1.13. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $16.62 and a one year high of $41.38. The firm has a market cap of $5.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.92, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.46.

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

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 72,967 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.84, for a total value 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 $3,343,193.16. The trade was a 44.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 34,000 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.41, for a total transaction of $1,271,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 157,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,899,669.23. This represents a 17.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 140,967 shares of company stock worth $5,213,964 over the last 90 days. 46.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus 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.