Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. Lowers Position in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)

Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. trimmed its position in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,500 shares during the period. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $1,218,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. O Neil Global Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 72.3% during the 4th quarter. O Neil Global Advisors Inc. now owns 29,343 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after buying an additional 12,313 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. lifted its position in Virtu Financial by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 13,556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $484,000 after acquiring an additional 1,512 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new stake in Virtu Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $437,000. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors bought a new stake in Virtu Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $3,694,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Virtu Financial

In related news, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 34,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.41, for a total value of $1,271,940.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 157,703 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,899,669.23. This trade represents a 17.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Brett Fairclough sold 72,967 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.84, for a total transaction of $2,688,104.28. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 90,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,343,193.16. This represents a 44.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 140,967 shares of company stock worth $5,213,964. Company insiders own 46.70% of the company’s stock.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VIRT opened at $35.39 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.92, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.46. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.62 and a twelve month high of $41.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a 50 day moving average of $37.15 and a 200 day moving average of $34.18.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.32. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 27.39% and a net margin of 9.61%. As a group, research analysts expect that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.36.

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.