Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stake in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) by 11.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 386,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 48,182 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Virtu Financial were worth $11,763,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VIRT. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 28.6% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 14,199 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 3,162 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Virtu Financial by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 124,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,564,000 after buying an additional 15,435 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Virtu Financial by 76.5% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 73,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,510,000 after acquiring an additional 31,884 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,368,000. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 40,908 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $841,000 after acquiring an additional 1,217 shares during the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ VIRT opened at $34.92 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.55, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.47. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.02 and a fifty-two week high of $36.98.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $388.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $379.18 million. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 23.22% and a net margin of 7.29%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 30.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Virtu Financial’s payout ratio is 48.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VIRT. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Virtu Financial from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup raised their price target on Virtu Financial from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Virtu Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Virtu Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.50.

Virtu Financial Company 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.