Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Lowers Holdings in Virtu Financial, Inc. $VIRT

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lowered its position in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT) by 75.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,355 shares of the company’s stock after selling 75,490 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $1,071,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VIRT. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 480.6% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 836 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 692 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 103.8% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 387 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 51.9% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Virtu Financial

In other Virtu Financial news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 30,000 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total value of $1,501,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 42,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,126,198.38. The trade was a 41.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 46.76% of the company’s stock.

Virtu Financial Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of VIRT stock traded down $0.99 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $65.83. 1,049,473 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,226,524. The stock has a market cap of $10.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $56.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.06. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $31.55 and a 52-week high of $68.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.58. The firm had revenue of $786.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $613.12 million. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 14.17% and a return on equity of 51.63%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 30.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.30 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 5.7 EPS for the current year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on VIRT shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Virtu Financial in a report on Friday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $39.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Virtu Financial from $51.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Virtu Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.67.

About Virtu Financial

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.