Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) Receives $39.13 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have given Virtu Financial an average recommendation of "Hold," with one sell, five hold, and two buy ratings, along with a 12-month price target of $39.13.
• Insider activity revealed that Director John Nixon sold nearly 7,000 shares, decreasing his position by 17.03%, while insiders collectively own 47.20% of the stock.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, which represents an annualized yield of 2.17% and a payout ratio of 27.75%.

Shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the eight analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $39.13.

VIRT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America cut shares of Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $43.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $40.00 price target (up previously from $38.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a research report on Thursday, April 24th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Virtu Financial

In related news, Director John Nixon sold 6,965 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total value of $298,241.30. Following the sale, the director directly owned 33,923 shares in the company, valued at $1,452,582.86. This trade represents a 17.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 47.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Virtu Financial

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VIRT. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 243.0% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 782 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 554 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new position in Virtu Financial during the first quarter worth $32,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in Virtu Financial by 1,624.1% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 942 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 410.6% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,297 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 1,043 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 89.7% during the second quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,368 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Virtu Financial Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of VIRT stock traded up $0.04 during trading on Monday, hitting $44.83. 254,747 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 952,913. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.70. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $42.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.64. Virtu Financial has a twelve month low of $26.50 and a twelve month high of $45.77.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.64. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 32.08%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Virtu Financial will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 1st will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Virtu Financial's dividend payout ratio is 21.82%.

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.