Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 57,863 Shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. $VIRT

Hsbc Holdings PLC cut its stake in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT) by 57.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 42,624 shares of the company’s stock after selling 57,863 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $1,442,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Virtu Financial by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 12,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $431,000 after buying an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 8,277 shares of the company’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 18,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $608,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 51.9% in the third 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

Shares of VIRT stock opened at $65.83 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $56.17 and its 200 day moving average is $46.15. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.55 and a 12 month high of $68.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.90, a PEG ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.58. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 51.63% and a net margin of 14.17%.The firm had revenue of $786.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $613.12 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 30.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 15.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Virtu Financial in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Virtu Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research raised Virtu Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $51.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Virtu Financial news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total value of $1,501,800.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 42,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,126,198.38. This trade represents a 41.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 46.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Virtu Financial Company 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.