Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Raises Stake in Virtu Financial, Inc. $VIRT

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT) by 14.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,359,452 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 176,184 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned 0.89% of Virtu Financial worth $44,318,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 51.9% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in Virtu Financial by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 76,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,425,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Virtu Financial by 103.8% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 32.0% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 93.7% during the third quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management now owns 978 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on VIRT shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Virtu Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Piper Sandler raised their price target 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, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Virtu Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Virtu Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.00.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

Shares of VIRT opened at $44.39 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $6.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.65, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The business’s 50 day moving average is $40.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.44. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $31.55 and a 52-week high of $45.77.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.73. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 48.35%. The business had revenue of $969.89 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $513.51 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 18.71%.

Insider Transactions at Virtu Financial

In other news, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 28,370 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.94, for a total transaction of $1,104,727.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 116,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,524,477.54. This trade represents a 19.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Joseph Molluso sold 200,000 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.88, for a total value of $7,776,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 326,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,697,624.80. This trade represents a 37.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 270,000 shares of company stock worth $10,458,644. Company insiders own 47.20% of the company’s stock.

Virtu Financial Company 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.