KBC Group NV Grows Stock Position in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)

KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) by 42.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 860 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $87,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 21.0% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 22.2% during the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 3.1% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 19,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 587 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc increased its stake in Virtu Financial by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 10,724 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $327,000 after buying an additional 717 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Virtu Financial by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 25,167 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $767,000 after buying an additional 728 shares during the period. 45.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VIRT. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Virtu Financial from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Virtu Financial from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Virtu Financial in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Virtu Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.50.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

VIRT stock opened at $36.69 on Friday. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $16.02 and a one year high of $38.09. The firm has a market cap of $5.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.44, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.47. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.14.

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

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.62%. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.24%.

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.