Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. Buys New Stake in Virtu Financial, Inc. $VIRT

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 63,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,822,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vontobel Holding Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the 1st quarter worth $231,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Virtu Financial by 2.4% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 401,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,291,000 after buying an additional 9,569 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Virtu Financial in the first quarter valued at about $347,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Virtu Financial in the first quarter worth about $54,000. Finally, Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial during the first quarter worth about $3,214,000. 45.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VIRT opened at $34.90 on Tuesday. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $31.10 and a twelve month high of $45.77. 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 $5.33 billion, a PE ratio of 10.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.62. The company’s 50 day moving average is $35.86 and its 200 day moving average is $39.88.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $274.00 million for the quarter. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 32.08%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 90,701 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.40, for a total transaction of $3,845,722.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 47.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on VIRT. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $48.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $45.00 price target (up previously from $40.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a report on Monday, August 4th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Virtu Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Virtu Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.71.

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.