Nuveen LLC Acquires Shares of 497,266 Virtu Financial, Inc. $VIRT

Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 497,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $18,956,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VIRT. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in Virtu Financial by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 14,826 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Virtu Financial by 185.9% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 158,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,661,000 after purchasing an additional 103,169 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC lifted its position in Virtu Financial by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 8,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $316,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Virtu Financial by 1,358.7% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 329,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,765,000 after purchasing an additional 307,133 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

VIRT opened at $41.1050 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $6.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.69. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $29.23 and a 12-month high of $45.77.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 21.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on VIRT shares. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Virtu Financial from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen cut Virtu Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Bank of America cut Virtu Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $43.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Virtu Financial from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 target price (up from $40.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.75.

Insider Transactions at Virtu Financial

In other Virtu Financial news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 90,701 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.40, for a total value of $3,845,722.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 47.20% of the company’s stock.

About Virtu Financial

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.