Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) Trading Down 5.2% – Should You Sell?

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT)’s share price traded down 5.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $55.42 and last traded at $54.9030. 122,208 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 1,262,553 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.94.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VIRT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Virtu Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $39.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Virtu Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $51.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $51.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.80.

Virtu Financial Trading Down 4.5%

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $60.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.51. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $8.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 0.62.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 13.50% and a return on equity of 49.06%. The company had revenue of $984.69 million during the quarter. Virtu Financial has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.820-1.820 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 6.38 EPS for the current year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 (DPR) is presently 15.95%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph J. 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 transaction of $511,896.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 33,814 shares in the company, valued at $2,060,625.16. This trade represents a 19.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John Nixon sold 9,094 shares of the business’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 transaction of $546,822.22. Following the sale, the director directly owned 30,902 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,137.26. The trade was a 22.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 46.76% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtu Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Virtu Financial by 41.9% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,928,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,607,000 after purchasing an additional 569,057 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Virtu Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,792,000. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lifted its position in Virtu Financial by 27.5% in the 1st quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 516,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,710,000 after buying an additional 111,437 shares during the last quarter. Collar Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter worth $1,798,000. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in Virtu Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $1,001,000. 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 across the financial markets. Through its market-making operations, the company quotes buy and sell prices and facilitates trading in a range of securities, including equities, exchange-traded funds, options, futures, foreign exchange and fixed-income products.

Virtu also provides technology-enabled execution and workflow solutions to institutions, brokers, and other market participants.