Virtu Financial, Inc. $VIRT Shares Acquired by Ruffer LLP

Ruffer LLP raised its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT) by 45.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 149,707 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 46,470 shares during the period. Ruffer LLP’s holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $4,996,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 1.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,999,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $354,987,000 after purchasing an additional 142,890 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 64.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,370,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,149,000 after buying an additional 926,376 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 2.6% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,785,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,374,000 after buying an additional 44,976 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 53.1% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,367,583 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,549,000 after buying an additional 474,177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,359,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,318,000 after buying an additional 176,184 shares during the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Virtu Financial

In other Virtu Financial news, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 28,370 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.94, for a total value of $1,104,727.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 116,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,524,477.54. This represents a 19.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Joseph Molluso sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.88, for a total transaction of $7,776,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 326,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,697,624.80. The trade was a 37.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 270,000 shares of company stock worth $10,458,644. 46.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

NYSE:VIRT opened at $47.86 on Wednesday. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $31.55 and a one year high of $52.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market cap of $7.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.33, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.54. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $43.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.83.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.73. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 48.35%. The company had revenue of $969.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $513.51 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 4.73 EPS for the current year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VIRT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research raised shares of Virtu Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Virtu Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Virtu Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.43.

Virtu Financial Profile

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.