Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) Sets New 1-Year High After Dividend Announcement

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $42.31 and last traded at $41.94, with a volume of 1107927 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $41.16.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Virtu Financial's payout ratio is 27.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VIRT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their price target on Virtu Financial from $56.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $40.00 price target (up from $38.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Evercore ISI raised their target price 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, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Virtu Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $37.88.

Virtu Financial Trading Up 1.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $6.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.68. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.65.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Douglas A. Cifu sold 178,320 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.57, for a total value of $6,877,802.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 408,867 shares in the company, valued at $15,770,000.19. This trade represents a 30.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brett Fairclough sold 72,967 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.84, for a total value of $2,688,104.28. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 90,749 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,343,193.16. This trade represents a 44.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 496,848 shares of company stock valued at $18,995,338. Insiders own 47.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtu Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 172.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 870 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in Virtu Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 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.