Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its stake in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) by 16.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 74,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 14,713 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $1,508,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VIRT. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 21.2% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 221,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,830,000 after buying an additional 38,862 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in Virtu Financial by 100.4% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 251,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,350,000 after acquiring an additional 126,185 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Virtu Financial by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 817,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,111,000 after purchasing an additional 13,443 shares during the last quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Virtu Financial in the third quarter valued at about $650,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 11.5% during the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 77,151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,332,000 after purchasing an additional 7,956 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

Virtu Financial Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Virtu Financial stock opened at $22.65 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.45. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.02 and a fifty-two week high of $22.92. The company has a market cap of $3.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.38.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 15th. Investors of record on Saturday, June 1st will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.24%. Virtu Financial’s payout ratio is 67.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on VIRT shares. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $22.50 to $24.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Virtu Financial from $20.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Virtu Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.24.

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.