Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 48,182 Shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 386,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 48,182 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.25% of Virtu Financial worth $11,763,000 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. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in Virtu Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Virtu Financial in the second quarter worth $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 55.3% in the first quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 781 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Virtu Financial during the second quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in Virtu Financial by 21.0% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Virtu Financial Price Performance

Shares of VIRT opened at $34.92 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.81. The firm has a market cap of $5.40 billion, a PE ratio of 17.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.02 and a 1-year high of $36.98.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $388.00 million during 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%. Virtu Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 2.7 EPS for the current year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

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

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.