87,823 Shares in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) Acquired by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 87,823 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,348,000. SG Americas Securities LLC owned 0.06% of Virtu Financial at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in VIRT. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 172.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 870 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 551 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 439.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,361 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 1,923 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.78% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John Nixon sold 6,965 shares of the business's 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 now owns 33,923 shares in the company, valued at $1,452,582.86. The trade was a 17.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Douglas A. Cifu sold 177,561 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.88, for a total value of $6,903,571.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 231,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,993,177.28. This represents a 43.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 362,846 shares of company stock valued at $14,079,615 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 47.20% of the company's stock.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VIRT traded up $0.80 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $41.92. The company had a trading volume of 882,323 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,148,098. The company has a market capitalization of $6.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.68. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.59 and a 1 year high of $44.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $40.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.02.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $497.14 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $444.23 million. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 27.39% and a net margin of 9.61%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 30.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.76 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Virtu Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on VIRT shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Virtu Financial from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research 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 for the company. in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Virtu Financial from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $37.25.

Virtu Financial Company 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.