MML Investors Services LLC Makes New Investment in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)

MML Investors Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 12,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $394,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D purchased a new position in shares of Virtu Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,971,000. Seven Eight Capital LP grew 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 purchasing an additional 27,948 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP grew its stake in Virtu Financial by 124.7% in 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. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in Virtu Financial in the second quarter worth about $381,000. Finally, Scientech Research LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial during the second quarter valued at about $395,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:VIRT opened at $35.41 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.79, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.43. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $34.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.33. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.02 and a 1-year 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.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business 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%. The company’s revenue was up 30.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 1st were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VIRT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Bank of America reduced 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. Citigroup raised their price objective on Virtu Financial from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Virtu Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.