The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) Price Target to $21.70

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) had its price target increased by The Goldman Sachs Group from $19.20 to $21.70 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the financial services provider's stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on VIRT. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $22.50 to $24.50 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Virtu Financial from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. UBS Group cut 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 note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $20.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $22.24.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

VIRT traded down $0.38 on Friday, hitting $22.02. 1,084,896 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,088,378. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $19.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.84. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.40. Virtu Financial has a fifty-two week low of $16.02 and a fifty-two week high of $22.80.

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 6.04% and a return on equity of 17.14%. The company had revenue of $535.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $272.96 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.32 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Virtu Financial will post 1.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 15th. Investors of record on Saturday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.36%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. Virtu Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 67.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Douglas A. Cifu purchased 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $16.21 per share, with a total value of $810,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 584,132 shares in the company, valued at $9,468,779.72. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 44.80% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtu Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 19,614 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 734 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 79.9% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,680 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 746 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 171,087 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,955,000 after purchasing an additional 848 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 112.3% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,131 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,127 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 48.1% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,574 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 1,161 shares during the period. 45.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.