Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $44.58 and last traded at $43.48, with a volume of 112791 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $43.15.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on VIRT shares. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $40.00 price target (up from $38.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of 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 their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $56.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Virtu Financial from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.88.

Virtu Financial Trading Down 1.2%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $37.77 and a 200 day moving average of $36.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.68.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $497.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $444.23 million. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 9.61% and a return on equity of 27.39%. Virtu Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 30.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Virtu Financial

In other news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 72,967 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 90,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,343,193.16. The trade was a 44.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 34,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.88, for a total value of $1,253,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 191,703 shares in the company, valued at $7,070,006.64. This represents a 15.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 496,848 shares of company stock worth $18,995,338 in the last three months. 47.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtu Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VIRT. Foundry Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 18,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $687,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 33,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,273,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Virtu Financial by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,794 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC grew its position in Virtu Financial by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 8,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 26.0% during the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.