Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Lowers Stock Holdings in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank has significantly reduced its holdings in Virtu Financial by 66.3%, selling over 26,500 shares, resulting in ownership of 13,511 shares valued at approximately $515,000.
• Multiple analysts have recently adjusted their price targets for Virtu Financial, with UBS Group setting a target of $45.00 and Piper Sandler raising it to $48.00, while Bank of America downgraded their rating to "neutral" with a target of $43.00.
• Virtu Financial announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 2.3% and a payout ratio of 21.82%.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lowered its position in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) by 66.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,511 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 26,533 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $515,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA increased its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 60.0% during the first quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA now owns 153,157 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,838,000 after acquiring an additional 57,405 shares in the last quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 27.5% during the first quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 30,132 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,264,000 after acquiring an additional 6,495 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 87.8% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 33,446 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,275,000 after acquiring an additional 15,640 shares in the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel bought a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $287,000. Finally, Convergence Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,725,000. Institutional investors own 45.78% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VIRT. Bank of America downgraded shares of Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $43.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $45.00 target price (up previously from $40.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a research report on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Virtu Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $39.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Virtu Financial

In other news, Director John Nixon sold 6,965 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $1,452,582.86. This trade represents a 17.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 47.20% of the company's stock.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Virtu Financial stock traded down $0.01 on Friday, hitting $42.44. 794,500 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 953,375. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.54 billion, a PE ratio of 12.27, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.69. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.14 and a 1 year high of $45.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.49.

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 paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Virtu Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.82%.

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.