Virtu Financial, Inc. $VIRT Holdings Decreased by Northern Trust Corp

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp has sold 43,350 shares of Virtu Financial, Inc., reducing its holdings to 1,405,516 shares, worth $53,578,000 as of the end of the first quarter.
• Virtu Financial announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, which will yield 2.2% to investors, to be paid on September 15th.
• Analysts have issued mixed ratings on Virtu Financial, with UBS establishing a price target of $45.00, while Morgan Stanley downgraded its target to $35.00.

Northern Trust Corp cut its position in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,405,516 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 43,350 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned 0.91% of Virtu Financial worth $53,578,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Penserra Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $54,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $231,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 3,319.6% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 10,635 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 10,324 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 401,117 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $15,291,000 after purchasing an additional 9,569 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 92.3% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 107,761 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,108,000 after purchasing an additional 51,713 shares during the period. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Virtu Financial

In other news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 90,701 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.40, for a total transaction of $3,845,722.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 47.20% of the company's stock.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VIRT traded down $0.55 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $41.84. The company had a trading volume of 994,469 shares, compared to its average volume of 943,983. 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 market cap of $6.40 billion, a PE ratio of 12.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $43.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.33. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $29.82 and a 1-year high of $45.77.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Virtu Financial's payout ratio is currently 21.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VIRT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $45.00 price target (up from $40.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Virtu Financial from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen cut Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Bank of America cut 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 lifted their target price on Virtu Financial from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Virtu Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.75.

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.