Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) Shares Acquired by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) by 135.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,276 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $203,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Virtu Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,081,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D bought a new position in Virtu Financial in the third quarter worth about $1,971,000. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 60.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,691,000 after acquiring an additional 20,843 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP boosted its stake in Virtu Financial by 41.9% in the second quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 94,608 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,124,000 after acquiring an additional 27,948 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP grew its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 124.7% during the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 53,785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,638,000 after purchasing an additional 29,844 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

Virtu Financial Stock Down 0.5 %

VIRT stock opened at $36.18 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $35.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.32. The company has a market capitalization of $5.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.45. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.02 and a 52 week high of $38.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.03. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 23.22% and a net margin of 7.29%. The firm had revenue of $388.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $379.18 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Virtu Financial’s payout ratio is currently 48.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VIRT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.21.

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.