Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) Shares Purchased by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) by 6.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,536 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $446,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp purchased a new position in Virtu Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,167,000. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. lifted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 11.9% in the 2nd quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. now owns 25,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $437,000 after purchasing an additional 2,721 shares in the last quarter. Hahn Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 22.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hahn Capital Management LLC now owns 557,201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,523,000 after purchasing an additional 103,547 shares in the last quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 54.8% in the 2nd quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 93,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,605,000 after purchasing an additional 33,247 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. MA lifted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 349,884 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,980,000 after purchasing an additional 3,538 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VIRT. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 9th. Citigroup upgraded Virtu Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Virtu Financial from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $19.00 in a report on Thursday, July 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Virtu Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Virtu Financial from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.00.

Virtu Financial Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of VIRT opened at $18.04 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.14 and a beta of 0.32. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.26 and a 12-month high of $23.38. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $17.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 1st will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 30th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.32%. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.26%.

Insider Activity at Virtu Financial

In related news, COO Joseph Molluso acquired 15,000 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $17.17 per share, for a total transaction of $257,550.00. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer now owns 358,160 shares in the company, valued at $6,149,607.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Douglas A. Cifu bought 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $17.06 per share, with a total value of $853,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 442,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,553,400.30. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Joseph Molluso bought 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $17.17 per share, with a total value of $257,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 358,160 shares in the company, valued at $6,149,607.20. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 44.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Virtu Financial

Virtu Financial, Inc, a financial services company in New York. The company operates through two segments, Market Making and Execution Services. Its product suite includes offerings in execution, liquidity sourcing, analytics and broker-neutral, and multi-dealer platforms in workflow technology. The company's solutions enable clients to trade on various venues across countries and in multiple asset classes, including global equities, ETFs, foreign exchange, futures, fixed income, cryptocurrencies, and other commodities.