Convergence Investment Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)

Convergence Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 45,254 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,725,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Virtu Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $54,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 26.0% in the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,670 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 528.9% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,182 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 2,676 shares during the period. Finally, Wexford Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $203,000. 45.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ VIRT traded up $0.40 on Friday, hitting $44.17. 925,421 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 953,542. The company has a market capitalization of $6.81 billion, a PE ratio of 12.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.70. The business's fifty day moving average is $42.52 and its 200 day moving average is $39.42. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.50 and a 52 week high of $45.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.49.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $497.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $444.23 million. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 32.08%. The company's revenue was up 30.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. Virtu Financial's payout ratio is presently 27.75%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John Nixon sold 6,965 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total value of $298,241.30. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 33,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,452,582.86. This represents a 17.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Douglas A. Cifu sold 177,561 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.88, for a total transaction of $6,903,571.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 231,306 shares in the company, valued at $8,993,177.28. This trade represents a 43.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 47.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on VIRT. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $40.00 target price (up previously from $38.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Bank of America cut shares of Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $43.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Virtu Financial currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $39.13.

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.