State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 7,808 Shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its stake in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) by 12.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 56,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,808 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $2,030,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VIRT. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,081,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Virtu Financial by 60.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,691,000 after purchasing an additional 20,843 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 124.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 53,785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,638,000 after purchasing an additional 29,844 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake 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 valued at $10,907,000 after purchasing an additional 117,062 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moody Aldrich Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $11,088,000 after buying an additional 55,102 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VIRT opened at $35.39 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $5.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.46. 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’s 50-day moving average is $37.15 and its 200-day moving average is $34.27. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.62 and a 1-year high of $41.38.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 32.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Virtu Financial from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler raised their price target 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Virtu Financial

In related news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 72,967 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 90,749 shares in the company, valued at $3,343,193.16. This represents a 44.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 34,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.88, for a total transaction of $1,253,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 191,703 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,070,006.64. This represents a 15.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 140,967 shares of company stock worth $5,213,964. Insiders own 46.70% of the company’s stock.

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.