Brokerages Set Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT) Target Price at $43.00

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $43.00.

VIRT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Virtu Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Virtu Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Virtu Financial from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th.

Virtu Financial Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of VIRT opened at $38.80 on Tuesday. Virtu Financial has a 52-week low of $31.55 and a 52-week high of $45.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.18. The company has a market capitalization of $6.00 billion, a PE ratio of 7.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.61.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.73. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 48.35%. The firm had revenue of $969.89 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $513.51 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 18.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Joseph Molluso sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.88, for a total value of $7,776,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 326,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,697,624.80. The trade was a 37.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.61, for a total transaction of $1,128,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 174,561 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,565,239.21. This trade represents a 14.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 270,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,458,644. Company insiders own 46.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtu Financial

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 3,460.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 692 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 258.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 713 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 480.6% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 836 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Virtu Financial by 103.8% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management increased its holdings in Virtu Financial by 93.7% in the 3rd quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management now owns 978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Virtu Financial

Virtu Financial, Inc is a technology-driven electronic trading firm and market maker that provides liquidity and price discovery across a wide range of financial instruments. Leveraging advanced analytics, high-performance computing and proprietary algorithms, Virtu operates in equities, fixed income, foreign exchange, commodities and derivative products. Its technology platform is designed to capture bid-ask spreads in real time, manage risk through automated controls and adapt to changing market conditions.

The company offers a suite of execution services and market-making solutions to institutional clients such as asset managers, banks, broker-dealers and hedge funds.