Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

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 presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $37.88.

Several research firms recently issued reports on VIRT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $40.00 target price (up previously from $38.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $56.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 34,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.41, for a total value of $1,271,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 157,703 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,899,669.23. This represents a 17.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Douglas A. Cifu sold 177,561 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.88, for a total transaction of $6,903,571.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 231,306 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,993,177.28. The trade was a 43.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 423,881 shares of company stock valued at $16,307,234 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 47.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtu Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VIRT. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 65.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 247,969 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,109,000 after purchasing an additional 97,697 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas boosted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 910.5% during the 4th quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 11,085 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 9,988 shares during the period. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. boosted its position in Virtu Financial by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 30,132 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,075,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Virtu Financial by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 45,401 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,573,000 after buying an additional 1,745 shares during the period. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new position in Virtu Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.78% of the company's stock.

Virtu Financial Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:VIRT opened at $42.36 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Virtu Financial has a 52-week low of $21.55 and a 52-week high of $44.58. The stock has a market cap of $6.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.26, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.68. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $38.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.91.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $497.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $444.23 million. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 9.61% and a return on equity of 27.39%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 30.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.76 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Virtu Financial will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Virtu Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.75%.

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.

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