Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Acquires 551 Shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) by 172.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 551 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $31,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. West Michigan Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Virtu Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $288,000. Hahn Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 69.2% in the 4th quarter. Hahn Capital Management LLC now owns 345,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,345,000 after acquiring an additional 141,475 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,032,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,031,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,809,000 after acquiring an additional 52,800 shares during the period. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $760,000. Institutional investors own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Virtu Financial from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Virtu Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.36.

Insider Activity at Virtu Financial

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. This trade represents a 44.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 34,000 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.88, for a total value of $1,253,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 191,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,070,006.64. This trade represents a 15.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 140,967 shares of company stock valued at $5,213,964 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 46.70% of the company’s stock.

Virtu Financial Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of VIRT opened at $35.38 on Thursday. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.72 and a 1 year high of $41.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.81. The stock has a market cap of $5.48 billion, a PE ratio of 11.91, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.57.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 32.32%.

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.