GAMMA Investing LLC Acquires 1,442 Shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) by 149.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,442 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $73,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VIRT. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Virtu Financial by 79.9% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 746 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $247,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp increased its stake in Virtu Financial by 7.1% in the first quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 135,766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,786,000 after purchasing an additional 9,035 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA raised its holdings in Virtu Financial by 1.2% in the first quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 340,258 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,982,000 after purchasing an additional 3,885 shares during the period. Finally, Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the first quarter worth $26,000. 45.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Virtu Financial Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ VIRT opened at $33.20 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market cap of $5.22 billion, a PE ratio of 23.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.38. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.91. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.02 and a 12-month high of $33.33.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.23. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 22.74% and a net margin of 7.59%. The company had revenue of $385.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $331.92 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, September 1st were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Virtu Financial

In other Virtu Financial news, Director Virginia Gambale sold 5,400 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.30, for a total transaction of $147,420.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $658,530.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 46.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VIRT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Virtu Financial from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Virtu Financial from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Virtu Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 19th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Virtu Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.79.

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.