Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from Morgan Stanley

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) had its target price decreased by Morgan Stanley from $57.00 to $56.00 in a report issued on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an underweight rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Virtu Financial from $51.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Virtu Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Zacks Research cut shares of Virtu Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Virtu Financial in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Virtu Financial in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.60.

Virtu Financial Stock Down 0.3%

Virtu Financial stock opened at $57.34 on Friday. Virtu Financial has a twelve month low of $31.55 and a twelve month high of $68.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $59.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.52, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.65.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $984.69 million for the quarter. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 49.06% and a net margin of 13.50%. Virtu Financial has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.820-1.820 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Virtu Financial will post 6.50 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 15.95%.

Insider Activity at Virtu Financial

In other news, Director John Nixon sold 9,094 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.13, for a total value of $546,822.22. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 30,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,137.26. This trade represents a 22.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Grano, Jr. sold 8,400 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $511,896.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 33,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,060,625.16. This trade represents a 19.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 46.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtu Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 4.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $365,000 after buying an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 16.3% during the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,679 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 25,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,512,000 after buying an additional 2,460 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $217,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,792,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

Virtu Financial Company Profile

Virtu Financial, Inc is a global financial services company that provides liquidity and execution services to the financial markets. Through its market-making business, the company buys and sells securities across a range of asset classes, including equities, exchange-traded funds, options, fixed income, foreign exchange and commodities. Its activities help facilitate trading for investors and other market participants.

Virtu also provides institutional clients with technology, trading tools, analytics and workflow solutions through its execution services business.