Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) by 22.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 796,756 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 234,874 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned 0.51% of Virtu Financial worth $30,372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VIRT. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC purchased a new position in Virtu Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $344,000. Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the fourth quarter worth $401,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Virtu Financial by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 319,763 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,409,000 after purchasing an additional 14,975 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Virtu Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $1,242,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC grew its position in Virtu Financial by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 73,342 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,617,000 after purchasing an additional 14,490 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.78% of the company's stock.

Virtu Financial Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of Virtu Financial stock traded up $0.57 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $43.20. 407,751 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,013,530. The stock has a market cap of $6.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $42.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.34. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.50 and a 12-month high of $45.77.

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 business had revenue of $497.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $444.23 million. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 32.08%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 30.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.76 earnings per share. As a group, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Virtu Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on VIRT. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up from $38.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Virtu Financial from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, 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 research report on Thursday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $39.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Virtu Financial

In other Virtu Financial news, Director John Nixon sold 6,965 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total value of $298,241.30. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Douglas A. Cifu sold 177,561 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 231,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,993,177.28. The trade was a 43.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 362,846 shares of company stock worth $14,079,615 over the last 90 days. 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.