Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) Receives $37.25 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $37.25.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Virtu Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Virtu Financial from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America lowered Virtu Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $43.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up from $38.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a report on Thursday, April 24th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Virtu Financial news, CEO Douglas A. Cifu sold 178,320 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.57, for a total transaction of $6,877,802.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 408,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,770,000.19. The trade was a 30.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John Nixon sold 6,965 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total value of $298,241.30. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 33,923 shares in the company, valued at $1,452,582.86. The trade was a 17.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 362,846 shares of company stock valued at $14,079,615 over the last three months. 47.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtu Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VIRT. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Virtu Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in Virtu Financial by 243.0% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Virtu Financial by 172.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 1,624.1% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 942 shares during the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

Shares of VIRT stock opened at $41.12 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.34 billion, a PE ratio of 13.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.68. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Virtu Financial has a 52-week low of $21.59 and a 52-week high of $44.58.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.31. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 27.39% and a net margin of 9.61%. The business had revenue of $497.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $444.23 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 30.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Virtu Financial will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 27.75%.

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.