Peregrine Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Virtu Financial, Inc. $VIRT

Peregrine Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) by 17.4% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 205,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 43,197 shares during the quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $9,210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Virtu Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,528,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Virtu Financial by 96.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Virtu Financial by 126.0% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $506,000 after purchasing an additional 6,300 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC grew its holdings in Virtu Financial by 149.2% in the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 29,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,318,000 after buying an additional 17,615 shares during the period. Finally, Freedom Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Virtu Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $494,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

Virtu Financial Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:VIRT opened at $33.89 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.51 and a 1 year high of $45.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.80, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.97.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 32.08% and a net margin of 10.43%.The business had revenue of $274.00 million during the quarter. Equities analysts forecast that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 1st were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Virtu Financial’s payout ratio is presently 21.82%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 90,701 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.40, for a total transaction of $3,845,722.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 47.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $45.00 price target (up previously from $40.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Virtu Financial from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Virtu Financial from $48.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Virtu Financial from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.43.

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.