Versor Investments LP Decreases Holdings in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)

Versor Investments LP lowered its position in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) by 43.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 15,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,900 shares during the quarter. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $549,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Virtu Financial during the fourth quarter worth $1,032,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 5.4% during 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 buying an additional 52,800 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the 4th quarter worth $760,000. Navellier & Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 66.6% in the 4th quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 23,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $843,000 after buying an additional 9,448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leuthold Group LLC acquired a new stake in Virtu Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,871,000. 45.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

Virtu Financial stock opened at $36.56 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.46. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.35 and a 12-month high of $41.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $37.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.47.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last announced its 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 analysts predict that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. Virtu Financial’s payout ratio is currently 32.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VIRT. Morgan Stanley lifted 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 34,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Brett Fairclough sold 72,967 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $2,688,104.28. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 140,967 shares of company stock worth $5,213,964. 46.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Virtu Financial 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.