First Trust Advisors LP Has $25.15 Million Stock Holdings in Virtu Financial, Inc. $VIRT

First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its holdings in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT) by 35.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 571,853 shares of the company’s stock after selling 312,272 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $25,150,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 27.5% during the first quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 516,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,710,000 after purchasing an additional 111,437 shares in the last quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $22,377,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 41.9% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,928,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,607,000 after purchasing an additional 569,057 shares in the last quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Virtu Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,489,000. Finally, Collar Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Virtu Financial during the 4th quarter worth $1,798,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VIRT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research lowered Virtu Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Wall Street Zen raised Virtu Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Virtu Financial from $51.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Virtu Financial from $51.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $61.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Virtu Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.50.

Insider Activity at Virtu Financial

In related news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total value of $1,501,800.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 42,473 shares in the company, valued at $2,126,198.38. This trade represents a 41.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 46.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

VIRT opened at $58.59 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $57.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.09 billion, a PE ratio of 9.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 0.58. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $31.55 and a 52 week high of $68.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.48.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 51.63% and a net margin of 14.17%.The business had revenue of $718.00 million for the quarter. Virtu Financial has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.820-1.820 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 6.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtu Financial Company Profile

Virtu Financial, Inc is a technology-driven electronic trading firm and market maker that provides liquidity and price discovery across a wide range of financial instruments. Leveraging advanced analytics, high-performance computing and proprietary algorithms, Virtu operates in equities, fixed income, foreign exchange, commodities and derivative products. Its technology platform is designed to capture bid-ask spreads in real time, manage risk through automated controls and adapt to changing market conditions.

The company offers a suite of execution services and market-making solutions to institutional clients such as asset managers, banks, broker-dealers and hedge funds.