Edgestream Partners L.P. Increases Position in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)

Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its stake in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) by 538.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 193,812 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 163,454 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $6,915,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Virtu Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Virtu Financial by 172.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares during the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in Virtu Financial during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Virtu Financial Stock Up 0.8 %

VIRT opened at $36.57 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.31, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.46. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.61. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.72 and a 52 week high of $41.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 9.61% and a return on equity of 27.39%. 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. Virtu Financial’s payout ratio is currently 32.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Virtu Financial news, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 34,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.41, for a total value of $1,271,940.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 157,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,899,669.23. This trade represents a 17.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brett Fairclough sold 72,967 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.84, for a total value of $2,688,104.28. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 140,967 shares of company stock valued at $5,213,964. Company insiders own 46.70% of the company’s stock.

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.