Insider Selling: Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) COO Sells 200,000 Shares of Stock

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) COO Joseph Molluso sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.88, for a total transaction of $7,776,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 326,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,697,624.80. The trade was a 37.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

VIRT stock traded up $0.44 on Friday, reaching $39.81. 1,138,152 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,274,927. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.09 billion, a PE ratio of 11.50, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.61. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.55 and a 12 month high of $45.77. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $36.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.49.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 10.43% and a return on equity of 32.08%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VIRT. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in Virtu Financial by 96.0% in the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 3,460.0% in the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 258.3% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 713 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Virtu Financial by 103.8% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 760 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Virtu Financial by 480.6% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on VIRT shares. 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 research note on Tuesday, October 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.00.

About Virtu Financial

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.