1834 Investment Advisors Co. Reduces Stake in Virtu Financial, Inc.

1834 Investment Advisors Co. has reduced its investment in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) by 11.7% during the fourth quarter, as noted in its latest Form 13F submission to the Securities and Exchange Commission. After selling 38,066 shares, the firm now holds a total of 286,847 shares of the financial services company. This represents approximately 1.3% of 1834 Investment Advisors Co.'s overall holdings, making Virtu Financial the firm's 15th largest investment. At the close of the latest quarter, 1834 Investment Advisors possessed around 0.19% of Virtu Financial, which is valued at approximately $10,235,000.

Virtu Financial Alerts

Other major investors have also been active in the market for Virtu Financial shares. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, bringing its total to 176,438 shares, valued at $6,295,000, following the acquisition of an additional 12,061 shares. Albion Financial Group UT took a new position in Virtu Financial, worth about $45,000, during the same period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC raised its stake by 4.0%, owning 45,401 shares worth $1,573,000 after adding 1,745 shares. Similarly, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. boosted its ownership by 1.2%, currently holding 30,132 shares valued at $1,075,000 after a purchase of 371 shares. Lastly, USA Financial Formulas expanded its holdings by a remarkable 910.5%, now owning 11,085 shares worth approximately $396,000 after acquiring 9,988 additional shares. Altogether, institutional investors and hedge funds control approximately 45.78% of Virtu Financial's stock.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

On Friday, shares of Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) opened at $39.52. The stock has a fifty-day moving average price of $36.55 and a two-hundred-day moving average price of $32.56. Over the past year, Virtu Financial's stock price has seen a low of $16.02 and a high of $39.60. With a market capitalization of $6.11 billion, the company has a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 19.86, a price-to-earnings/growth (P/E/G) ratio of 0.49, and a beta of 0.45. Additionally, it has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23 along with current and quick ratios, both standing at 0.47.

Virtu Financial recently posted its earnings results on October 24, revealing earnings of $0.82 per share for the quarter, which exceeded the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.03. Revenue for the quarter was reported at $388.00 million, surpassing the anticipated $379.18 million. The firm achieved a net margin of 7.29% and a return on equity of 23.22%. Year-over-year, revenue increased by 30.2%. In the same quarter last year, the earnings per share were $0.40. Analysts forecast Virtu Financial will report earnings of 2.9 per share for the current fiscal year.

Dividend Announcement

Virtu Financial also announced a quarterly dividend recently, which was paid out on December 15. Shareholders recorded on December 1 received a dividend of $0.24 per share, with the ex-dividend date falling on November 29. This equates to an annualized dividend of $0.96, yielding a rate of 2.43%. Currently, the company's dividend payout ratio stands at 48.24%.

Brokerage Updates

Several brokerage firms have issued new ratings and price targets for Virtu Financial's stock. Morgan Stanley raised its target price from $23.00 to $25.00 and rated the stock as “equal weight” in a report on October 17. The Goldman Sachs Group updated their price target from $26.00 to $29.00, giving Virtu Financial a “neutral” rating on September 30. Bank of America adjusted its price target downward from $37.00 to $35.00 while setting a “buy” rating on October 3. Piper Sandler upgraded Virtu Financial's target price from $35.00 to $40.00, recommending an “overweight” rating in January. Citigroup also raised its target from $32.00 to $37.00 and rated the stock as a “buy” on October 9. In total, five investment analysts rate Virtu Financial as a hold while three consider it a buy, leading to an average rating of “Hold” with a consensus target price of $30.21.

Virtu Financial Overview

Virtu Financial, Inc. operates in the financial services sector both in the United States and internationally, covering regions like Asia Pacific, Canada, EMEA, and Ireland. The company primarily functions through two segments: Market Making and Execution Services, providing products and services that include execution, liquidity sourcing, analytics, and broker-neutral capital markets.

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