Key Points
- Virtu Financial COO Brett Fairclough sold 30,000 shares on May 8 at an average price of $50.06, totaling about $1.5 million. After the sale, he still owned 42,473 shares, and his stake dropped by 41.39%.
- The company reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $2.24 versus the $1.66 consensus estimate and revenue of $786.53 million, up 30.7% year over year. Virtu also highlighted a strong return on equity of 51.63%.
- Virtu Financial declared a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, payable June 15 to shareholders of record on June 1. That works out to an annualized dividend of $0.96 and a yield of 1.9%.
Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT - Get Free Report) COO Brett Fairclough sold 30,000 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total value of $1,501,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 42,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,126,198.38. The trade was a 41.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.
Virtu Financial Price Performance
NYSE VIRT opened at $51.29 on Friday. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $31.55 and a one year high of $52.21. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $45.18 and a 200 day moving average of $38.97. The company has a market capitalization of $7.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.49, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.48.
Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.58. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 51.63% and a net margin of 14.17%.The company had revenue of $786.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $613.12 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.30 EPS. Virtu Financial's revenue for the quarter was up 30.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 5.48 EPS for the current year.
Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. Virtu Financial's payout ratio is currently 15.89%.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VIRT. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 64.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,370,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,149,000 after acquiring an additional 926,376 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 290.3% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,132,346 shares of the company's stock worth $37,730,000 after buying an additional 842,247 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Virtu Financial by 565.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 815,143 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,161,000 after buying an additional 692,643 shares in the last quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. purchased a new stake in Virtu Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $22,377,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Virtu Financial by 41.9% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,928,509 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,607,000 after buying an additional 569,057 shares in the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on VIRT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Virtu Financial from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Virtu Financial from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Virtu Financial from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Virtu Financial from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Virtu Financial from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $48.67.
View Our Latest Analysis on VIRT
Virtu Financial Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
Virtu Financial, Inc is a technology-driven electronic trading firm and market maker that provides liquidity and price discovery across a wide range of financial instruments. Leveraging advanced analytics, high-performance computing and proprietary algorithms, Virtu operates in equities, fixed income, foreign exchange, commodities and derivative products. Its technology platform is designed to capture bid-ask spreads in real time, manage risk through automated controls and adapt to changing market conditions.
The company offers a suite of execution services and market-making solutions to institutional clients such as asset managers, banks, broker-dealers and hedge funds.
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