Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the seven ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $31.36.

Several brokerages have issued reports on VIRT. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Virtu Financial from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

VIRT opened at $38.88 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $6.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.09, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.18. 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 $20.07 and a 52-week high of $41.38.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.32. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 27.39% and a net margin of 9.61%. Equities analysts anticipate that Virtu Financial will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.47%. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 34,000 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.41, for a total transaction of $1,271,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 157,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,899,669.23. The trade was a 17.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brett Fairclough sold 72,967 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.84, for a total transaction of $2,688,104.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 90,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,343,193.16. The trade was a 44.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 140,967 shares of company stock worth $5,213,964. 46.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtu Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Virtu Financial during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 172.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 551 shares during the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

Virtu Financial Company 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.