Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) Position Boosted by Bridgewater Associates LP

Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its stake in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) by 124.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 53,785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 29,844 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $1,638,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of VIRT. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 38.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,974,095 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $151,511,000 after purchasing an additional 1,368,419 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the third quarter worth about $29,815,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the second quarter worth about $9,751,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 39.2% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,215,833 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,295,000 after purchasing an additional 342,327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 400.0% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 328,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,008,000 after purchasing an additional 262,835 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ VIRT opened at $37.31 on Monday. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.02 and a 12 month high of $38.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.77 billion, a PE ratio of 18.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.38. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.77.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.03. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 7.29% and a return on equity of 23.22%. The business had revenue of $388.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $379.18 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research 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. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.57%. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Virtu Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. 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 research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.50.

Virtu Financial 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.