Advisors Capital Management LLC Buys 50,843 Shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. $VIRT

Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) by 28.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 230,881 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 50,843 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC owned 0.15% of Virtu Financial worth $8,196,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,999,628 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $354,987,000 after buying an additional 142,890 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Virtu Financial by 23.2% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,183,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,373,000 after acquiring an additional 222,862 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Virtu Financial by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 913,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,910,000 after acquiring an additional 36,640 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Virtu Financial by 21.1% during the 2nd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 594,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,644,000 after acquiring an additional 103,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Virtu Financial by 170.7% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 555,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,890,000 after purchasing an additional 350,401 shares during the period. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VIRT opened at $39.37 on Thursday. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $31.55 and a twelve month 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. The company has a market cap of $6.02 billion, a PE ratio of 11.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50 day moving average is $35.90 and its 200 day moving average is $36.40.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.73. The business had revenue of $969.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $513.51 million. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 32.08%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VIRT has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. 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 report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Virtu Financial from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Virtu Financial

In other Virtu Financial news, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 30,000 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.61, for a total transaction of $1,128,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 174,561 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,565,239.21. This trade represents a 14.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 70,000 shares of company stock worth $2,682,644. Company insiders own 47.20% of the company’s stock.

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.