Insider Selling: Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) EVP Sells $1,128,300.00 in Stock

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.61, for a total transaction of $1,128,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 174,561 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,565,239.21. This trade represents a 14.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Stephen Cavoli also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, February 11th, Stephen Cavoli sold 11,630 shares of Virtu Financial stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.66, for a total transaction of $449,615.80.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VIRT traded up $0.79 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $38.38. 894,784 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,296,948. The stock has a market cap of $5.87 billion, a PE ratio of 11.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.61. The business’s fifty day moving average is $35.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.60. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $31.55 and a one year high of $45.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.73. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 32.08%. The business had revenue of $969.89 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $513.51 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Virtu Financial from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Virtu Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Virtu Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.00.

Institutional Trading of Virtu Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 0.8% during the second quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 29,986 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,343,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the period. Optimist Retirement Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 8,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $276,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 96.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,868 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in Virtu Financial by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 18,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $608,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Virtu Financial Company Profile

Virtu Financial, Inc (NASDAQ: VIRT) is a leading global electronic trading firm specializing in market making, liquidity provision and trade execution services across a broad range of asset classes. Leveraging advanced quantitative models and proprietary trading technology, Virtu provides continuous bid and ask quotes in equities, fixed income, foreign exchange, commodities and digital assets. The firm’s infrastructure is designed to operate at high speeds and low latencies, enabling tight spreads and efficient price discovery for its clients.

In addition to its market-making activities, Virtu offers agency execution services, algorithmic trading strategies and transaction cost analysis tools.