Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) Sets New 1-Year High at $22.80

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $22.80 and last traded at $22.30, with a volume of 433800 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $21.19.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Virtu Financial from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $21.00 to $22.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Virtu Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Virtu Financial currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.75.

Virtu Financial Trading Up 3.1 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $19.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.80. The firm has a market cap of $3.45 billion, a PE ratio of 15.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.40.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.13). Virtu Financial had a net margin of 6.22% and a return on equity of 16.94%. The company had revenue of $535.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $272.96 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.32 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 1.8 EPS for the current year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Virtu Financial's payout ratio is currently 68.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Virtu Financial

In other Virtu Financial news, CEO Douglas A. Cifu bought 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $16.21 per share, with a total value of $810,500.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 584,132 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,468,779.72. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 44.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtu Financial

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VIRT. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 131.2% in the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 84,802 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,449,000 after purchasing an additional 48,127 shares during the period. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. increased its stake in Virtu Financial by 913.6% in the 4th quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. now owns 306,289 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,205,000 after buying an additional 276,071 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Virtu Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $1,149,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 27.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 280,338 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,834,000 after acquiring an additional 60,776 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the 4th quarter worth $1,699,000. 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.