27,612 Shares in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) Bought by Prana Capital Management LP

Prana Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 27,612 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $985,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. USA Financial Formulas raised its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 910.5% during the 4th quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 11,085 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $396,000 after buying an additional 9,988 shares in the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 30,132 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,075,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 45,401 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,573,000 after acquiring an additional 1,745 shares during the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in Virtu Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 176,438 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,295,000 after acquiring an additional 12,061 shares during the period. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Virtu Financial Trading Up 1.1%

VIRT traded up $0.47 during trading on Friday, hitting $41.45. 939,160 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,193,622. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.55 and a 1 year high of $44.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market cap of $6.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $38.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.13.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $497.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $444.23 million. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 9.61% and a return on equity of 27.39%. The firm's quarterly revenue 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 expect that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Virtu Financial's payout ratio is presently 27.75%.

Insider Activity at Virtu Financial

In other Virtu Financial news, CEO Douglas A. Cifu sold 178,320 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.57, for a total transaction of $6,877,802.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 408,867 shares in the company, valued at $15,770,000.19. This trade represents a 30.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director John Nixon sold 6,965 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the director now owns 33,923 shares in the company, valued at $1,452,582.86. This represents a 17.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 396,846 shares of company stock valued at $15,351,555. 47.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America downgraded 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. UBS Group restated 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Virtu Financial presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $37.25.

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.