Prudential Financial Inc. Has $3.81 Million Stock Holdings in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)

Prudential Financial Inc. lowered its holdings in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) by 43.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 109,030 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 84,986 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.07% of Virtu Financial worth $3,807,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VIRT. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Virtu Financial in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 172.7% during the 4th 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 period. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. 45.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:VIRT opened at $38.55 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.97 billion, a PE ratio of 12.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $37.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.48. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.15 and a 12 month high of $41.38.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.32. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 27.39% and a net margin of 9.61%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 32.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 72,967 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.84, for a total transaction of $2,688,104.28. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 90,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,343,193.16. This represents a 44.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 34,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.88, for a total transaction of $1,253,920.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 191,703 shares in the company, valued at $7,070,006.64. This trade represents a 15.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 140,967 shares of company stock worth $5,213,964 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 46.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Virtu Financial Company 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.