Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest in Virtu Financial surged by 243.4% in July, reaching a total of 2,740,000 shares, accounting for 3.4% of the company's shares sold short.
• JPMorgan Chase raised the price target for Virtu Financial to $39.00, while the stock has an average target price consensus of $39.13 from analysts.
• Virtu Financial will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share on September 15, 2014, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 2.2%.

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,740,000 shares, agrowthof243.4% from the June 30th total of 797,800 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 898,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days. Currently,3.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Currently,3.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 898,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Insider Activity at Virtu Financial

In related news, Director John Nixon sold 6,965 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total transaction of $298,241.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 33,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,452,582.86. This trade represents a 17.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 47.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtu Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Virtu Financial by 1.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,568,548 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $364,753,000 after buying an additional 165,396 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 28.2% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,375,783 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $227,488,000 after acquiring an additional 1,401,688 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Virtu Financial by 83.6% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,473,165 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $56,157,000 after purchasing an additional 670,774 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Virtu Financial by 48.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,448,866 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $51,696,000 after purchasing an additional 471,526 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Virtu Financial by 50.9% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,320,356 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $49,764,000 after purchasing an additional 445,586 shares in the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VIRT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Virtu Financial from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Virtu Financial from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $43.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.13.

Virtu Financial Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of Virtu Financial stock traded down $0.84 during trading on Friday, hitting $43.30. The stock had a trading volume of 847,355 shares, compared to its average volume of 957,268. The stock has a market cap of $6.68 billion, a PE ratio of 12.51, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.69. Virtu Financial has a 12 month low of $26.50 and a 12 month high of $45.77. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $42.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.49.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Virtu Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.82%.

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.