Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Acquires 95,692 Shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) by 11.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 930,110 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 95,692 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned 0.60% of Virtu Financial worth $35,856,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $1,032,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 172.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 870 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $816,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc lifted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 50.1% in the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 16,101 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $574,000 after purchasing an additional 5,377 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 45.78% of the company's stock.

Virtu Financial Stock Down 3.0%

Virtu Financial stock traded down $1.35 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $43.44. The stock had a trading volume of 1,001,334 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,060,084. 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 capitalization of $6.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.68. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.59 and a 12-month high of $44.92. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $41.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.45.

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

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a $0.24 dividend. 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 is presently 27.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VIRT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up from $38.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a research report on Thursday, April 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 research report on Thursday, May 15th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Virtu Financial presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $37.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Douglas A. Cifu sold 177,561 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 231,306 shares in the company, valued at $8,993,177.28. The trade was a 43.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director John Nixon sold 6,965 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total transaction of $298,241.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 33,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,452,582.86. This represents a 17.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 362,846 shares of company stock valued at $14,079,615 over the last quarter. Company 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.