SG Americas Securities LLC Acquires 134,462 Shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. $VIRT

SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT) by 216.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 196,488 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 134,462 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Virtu Financial worth $6,547,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 128.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 431,145 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,306,000 after purchasing an additional 242,611 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 609.7% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 2,457 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Virtu Financial by 51.9% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Prana Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Virtu Financial by 323.6% in the 3rd quarter. Prana Capital Management LP now owns 80,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,874,000 after buying an additional 61,854 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in Virtu Financial in the third quarter valued at $3,053,000. Institutional investors own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VIRT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Virtu Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Virtu Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Virtu Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.00.

Virtu Financial Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of NYSE VIRT opened at $44.03 on Wednesday. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $31.55 and a 1-year high of $45.77. The company has a market cap of $6.81 billion, a PE ratio of 8.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company has a 50-day moving average of $40.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.39.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.73. The company had revenue of $969.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $513.51 million. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 48.35%. Virtu Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 30,000 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.61, for a total value of $1,128,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 174,561 shares of the company’s stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Joseph Molluso sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.88, for a total value of $7,776,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 326,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,697,624.80. The trade was a 37.98% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 270,000 shares of company stock worth $10,458,644 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 46.70% of the company’s stock.

Virtu Financial Profile

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.