Virtu Financial, Inc. $VIRT Shares Sold by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

Key Points

• PNC Financial Services Group Inc. significantly reduced its stake in Virtu Financial by 66.2%, selling 8,709 shares and leaving it with 4,444 shares valued at approximately $169,000.
• Several hedge funds have increased their investments in Virtu Financial, with Allianz Asset Management boosting its stake by 69.5% and Northern Trust Corp raising theirs by 48.2%.
• Virtu Financial announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, with a record date of September 1st and an ex-dividend date of August 29th.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. cut its position in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) by 66.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,444 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,709 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.'s holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $169,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VIRT. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Virtu Financial by 48.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,448,866 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $51,696,000 after buying an additional 471,526 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,993,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 69.5% in the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,063,011 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,522,000 after purchasing an additional 435,958 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 930,110 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,856,000 after purchasing an additional 95,692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 874,770 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,212,000 after purchasing an additional 213,013 shares in the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VIRT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America lowered shares of Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $43.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Virtu Financial from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $45.00 price target (up previously from $40.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $39.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Virtu Financial news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 90,701 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.40, for a total transaction of $3,845,722.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 47.20% of the company's stock.

Virtu Financial Trading Down 0.9%

NASDAQ:VIRT opened at $41.42 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $6.33 billion, a PE ratio of 11.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.69. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $29.23 and a fifty-two week high of $45.77. 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 stock's 50-day moving average is $43.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.09.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Virtu Financial's dividend payout ratio 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.

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