PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Sells 8,709 Shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. $VIRT

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. trimmed its position in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) by 66.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VIRT. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new position in Virtu Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $54,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 26.0% during the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,670 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Virtu Financial in the first quarter valued at $213,000. Finally, Wexford Capital LP bought a new stake in Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter worth $203,000. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 90,701 shares of the business's 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 can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 47.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports 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 on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $45.00 price target (up previously from $40.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen cut Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Virtu Financial from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Virtu Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.75.

Virtu Financial Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of VIRT traded up $0.4520 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $42.0320. 740,538 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 945,013. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $29.71 and a 12 month 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 has a market cap of $6.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.69. The stock's 50-day moving average is $43.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.13.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be given 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 21.82%.

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.