Two Sigma Investments LP Increases Holdings in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)

Two Sigma Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) by 9.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 834,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 73,304 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP’s holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $29,771,000 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 business. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in Virtu Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $603,000. Prana Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Virtu Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $985,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Virtu Financial by 84.2% in the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 51,315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,831,000 after acquiring an additional 23,455 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc lifted its stake in Virtu Financial by 530.5% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 53,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,900,000 after purchasing an additional 44,804 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $471,000. Institutional investors own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John Nixon sold 6,965 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total value of $298,241.30. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 33,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,452,582.86. This represents a 17.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Douglas A. Cifu sold 178,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.57, for a total transaction of $6,877,802.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 408,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,770,000.19. The trade was a 30.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 362,846 shares of company stock valued at $14,079,615 over the last three months. 47.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Virtu Financial Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of VIRT stock opened at $42.18 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $6.50 billion, a PE ratio of 14.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.68. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.55 and a 1 year high of $44.58. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $497.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $444.23 million. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 27.39% and a net margin of 9.61%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.76 EPS. Research analysts predict that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VIRT. Bank of America cut Virtu Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $43.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Virtu Financial from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Virtu Financial from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $40.00 target price (up from $38.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.25.

About Virtu Financial

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.