Insider Selling: Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) COO Sells $7,776,000.00 in Stock

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

Virtu Financial Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ VIRT opened at $39.81 on Monday. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $31.55 and a 1 year high of $45.77. The stock has a market cap of $6.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $36.12 and a 200 day moving average of $36.31. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.73. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 32.08%. The business had revenue of $969.89 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $513.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on VIRT shares. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Virtu Financial from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Bank of America upgraded shares of Virtu Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Virtu Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtu Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VIRT. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 3,460.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 692 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Virtu Financial by 258.3% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 713 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC grew 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

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.