Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Virtu Financial, Inc. has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from eight brokerage firms, with one sell rating, five holds, and two buys, and an average twelve-month target price of $39.75.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.24, which translates to an annualized payout of $0.96 and a dividend yield of approximately 2.3%.
• Insider activity included COO Brett Fairclough selling 90,701 shares at an average price of $42.40, totaling approximately $3.85 million.

Shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the eight ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $39.75.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on VIRT shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Virtu Financial from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Bank of America downgraded Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $43.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $45.00 target price (up previously from $40.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VIRT traded up $0.4520 on Friday, hitting $42.0320. The company had a trading volume of 740,538 shares, compared to its average volume of 945,013. The stock has a market cap of $6.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $43.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.13. Virtu Financial has a 1-year low of $29.71 and a 1-year high of $45.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders 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 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Virtu Financial's payout ratio is presently 21.82%.

Insider Transactions at Virtu Financial

In other Virtu Financial news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 90,701 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.40, for a total transaction of $3,845,722.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 47.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VIRT. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 29,986 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,343,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 2.8% in the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 10,002 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $381,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 1.5% during the first quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 18,031 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $687,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 0.8% in the first quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 33,397 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,273,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 96.0% in the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 582 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.78% of the company's stock.

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.