Peregrine Capital Management LLC Sells 18,731 Shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)

Peregrine Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) by 7.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 248,833 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 18,731 shares during the quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC owned about 0.16% of Virtu Financial worth $9,486,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 28.2% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,375,783 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $227,488,000 after acquiring an additional 1,401,688 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,993,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Virtu Financial by 180.0% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 948,590 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,846,000 after buying an additional 609,821 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Virtu Financial by 48.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,448,866 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $51,696,000 after acquiring an additional 471,526 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $12,196,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.78% of the company's stock.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ VIRT traded up $0.96 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $44.34. The company had a trading volume of 306,118 shares, compared to its average volume of 964,513. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.59 and a fifty-two week high of $44.96. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $6.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.68.

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

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Virtu Financial from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up from $38.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Virtu Financial from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America lowered 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, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $37.25.

Insider Transactions at Virtu Financial

In related news, Director John Nixon sold 6,965 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total transaction of $298,241.30. Following the transaction, the director owned 33,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,452,582.86. This represents a 17.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Douglas A. Cifu sold 178,320 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 362,846 shares of company stock worth $14,079,615. Insiders own 47.20% of the company's stock.

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.