MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. Buys 38,797 Shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)

MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 812,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 38,797 shares during the quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. owned approximately 0.53% of Virtu Financial worth $28,999,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VIRT. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 28.2% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,375,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $227,488,000 after purchasing an additional 1,401,688 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the 4th quarter worth $39,993,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 180.0% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 948,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,846,000 after purchasing an additional 609,821 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 48.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,448,866 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,696,000 after purchasing an additional 471,526 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the 4th quarter worth $12,196,000. Institutional investors own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

Shares of VIRT stock opened at $42.20 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $6.51 billion, a PE ratio of 14.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.68. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $21.55 and a 52-week high of $44.58.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $497.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $444.23 million. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 27.39% and a net margin of 9.61%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.75%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Douglas A. Cifu sold 178,320 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.57, for a total value of $6,877,802.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 408,867 shares in the company, valued at $15,770,000.19. The trade was a 30.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 34,000 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.41, for a total value 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 approximately $5,899,669.23. This represents a 17.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 423,881 shares of company stock valued at $16,307,234 in the last quarter. 47.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on VIRT shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Virtu Financial from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Virtu Financial from $56.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $40.00 price target (up previously from $38.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Virtu Financial from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.88.

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.