First Bank & Trust Sells 1,487 Shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)

First Bank & Trust cut its stake in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) by 6.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,487 shares during the quarter. First Bank & Trust’s holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $343,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VIRT. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 1,577.3% during the first quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 2,338,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,204,000 after acquiring an additional 2,199,380 shares during the period. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $58,287,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $19,031,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 59.7% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,164,023 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,272,000 after acquiring an additional 809,085 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 6,499.8% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 740,959 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,004,000 after acquiring an additional 729,732 shares during the period. 46.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on VIRT shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Virtu Financial in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of Virtu Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Virtu Financial from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $19.00 in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Virtu Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Virtu Financial

In related news, COO Joseph Molluso acquired 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $17.17 per share, for a total transaction of $257,550.00. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer now owns 358,160 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,149,607.20. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Douglas A. Cifu acquired 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $17.06 per share, for a total transaction of $853,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 442,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,553,400.30. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Joseph Molluso acquired 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $17.17 per share, for a total transaction of $257,550.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer now owns 358,160 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,149,607.20. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 44.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

Shares of VIRT stock traded up $0.31 on Monday, reaching $17.43. 389,590 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,118,366. The company has a market cap of $2.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.71 and a beta of 0.24. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $18.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.50. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.26 and a 1 year high of $23.74.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.04). Virtu Financial had a net margin of 6.53% and a return on equity of 18.21%. The business had revenue of $278.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $290.67 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 1st were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 31st. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.51%. Virtu Financial’s payout ratio is 70.59%.

Virtu Financial Profile

Virtu Financial, Inc, a financial services company in New York. The company operates through two segments, Market Making and Execution Services. Its product suite includes offerings in execution, liquidity sourcing, analytics and broker-neutral, and multi-dealer platforms in workflow technology. The company's solutions enable clients to trade on various venues across countries and in multiple asset classes, including global equities, ETFs, foreign exchange, futures, fixed income, cryptocurrencies, and other commodities.