Truist Financial Corp Raises Holdings in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)

Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) by 14.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,598 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $990,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,794 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the period. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 30,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,075,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the period. HBW Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 509 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Virtu Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 10,724 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $327,000 after buying an additional 717 shares during the period. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Virtu Financial

In related news, 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 90,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,343,193.16. This trade represents a 44.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 34,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.88, for a total value of $1,253,920.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 191,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,070,006.64. This trade represents a 15.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 140,967 shares of company stock valued at $5,213,964 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 46.70% of the company’s stock.

Virtu Financial Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VIRT opened at $36.56 on Friday. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.35 and a 52-week high of $41.38. The firm 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. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $37.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 1.13.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.32. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 27.39% and a net margin of 9.61%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on VIRT. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Virtu Financial from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.36.

Virtu Financial Company 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.