Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Acquires 10,324 Shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) by 3,319.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,635 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,324 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $405,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VIRT. Diversified Trust Co raised its position in Virtu Financial by 32.5% in the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 14,125 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $538,000 after acquiring an additional 3,465 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in Virtu Financial by 56.1% during the 1st quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 175,181 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,678,000 after buying an additional 62,987 shares during the period. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Virtu Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $988,000. TrueMark Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Virtu Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $281,000. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in Virtu Financial by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 67,877 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,586,000 after buying an additional 807 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.78% of the company's stock.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

Virtu Financial stock traded down $1.33 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $43.51. 334,176 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,054,286. The firm has a market cap of $6.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.58, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.70. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $41.86 and a 200 day moving average of $38.76. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.59 and a 12 month high of $45.12.

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

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Virtu Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on VIRT. Wall Street Zen downgraded Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up previously from $38.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Virtu Financial from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America downgraded Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $43.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $37.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Douglas A. Cifu sold 178,320 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.57, for a total transaction of $6,877,802.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 408,867 shares in the company, valued at $15,770,000.19. The trade was a 30.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John Nixon sold 6,965 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total value of $298,241.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 33,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,452,582.86. The trade was a 17.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 362,846 shares of company stock valued at $14,079,615. Corporate 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.