Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $69.25 According to Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is mixed: Seven analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating, with four buys, two holds and one sell. Their average 12-month price target is $69.25.
• Virtu beat quarterly expectations: It reported EPS of $1.77 versus $1.52 expected and revenue of $956.39 million versus $647.02 million expected; revenue rose 147.1% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, equivalent to an annualized yield of 1.6% at the article’s stated share price.

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the seven analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $69.25.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VIRT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Virtu Financial from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Virtu Financial in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Evercore upgraded Virtu Financial to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Virtu Financial in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 shares were sold at an average price of $60.13, for a total transaction of $546,822.22. Following the completion of the sale, the director 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Joseph Grano, Jr. sold 8,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,060,625.16. This trade represents a 19.90% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 46.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtu Financial

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 7.1% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,556,727 shares of the company's stock valued at $142,205,000 after purchasing an additional 170,518 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,920,590 shares of the company's stock worth $84,458,000 after purchasing an additional 19,888 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,156,040 shares of the company's stock worth $63,767,000 after purchasing an additional 185,306 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 822,139 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,349,000 after buying an additional 108,580 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 39.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 782,114 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,591,000 after buying an additional 222,859 shares during the period. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Virtu Financial Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:VIRT traded down $0.29 during trading on Friday, reaching $59.32. The stock had a trading volume of 1,397,710 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,028,104. Virtu Financial has a 52 week low of $31.55 and a 52 week high of $68.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.49. The firm's fifty day moving average is $57.00 and its 200 day moving average is $52.97. The stock has a market cap of $9.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 0.67.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $1.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $956.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $647.02 million. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 14.20% and a return on equity of 49.68%. Virtu Financial's quarterly revenue was up 147.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.05 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Virtu Financial will post 6.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st. Virtu Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.10%.

About Virtu Financial

Virtu Financial, Inc. is a financial technology firm and electronic market maker that provides liquidity across a range of global financial markets. The company uses technology and quantitative analysis to facilitate trading in asset classes including equities, exchange-traded funds, options, futures, currencies, fixed income and commodities. In addition to market making, Virtu offers execution services and trading technology for institutional investors, broker-dealers and other market participants.

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