Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) Reaches New 52-Week High - Still a Buy?

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $45.12 and last traded at $44.64, with a volume of 157789 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.51.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $40.00 price objective (up from $38.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $37.25.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $6.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.70. The company's 50-day moving average is $42.11 and its 200-day moving average is $38.88.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.31. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 32.08%. The business had revenue of $497.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $444.23 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. Virtu Financial's revenue was up 30.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. Virtu Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Virtu Financial

In related news, CEO Douglas A. Cifu sold 178,320 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.57, for a total value of $6,877,802.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 408,867 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,770,000.19. The trade was a 30.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John Nixon sold 6,965 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total transaction of $298,241.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 33,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,452,582.86. The trade was a 17.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 362,846 shares of company stock valued at $14,079,615 in the last three months. 47.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtu Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,401,688 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Virtu Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $39,993,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Virtu Financial by 83.6% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,473,165 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $56,157,000 after purchasing an additional 670,774 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Virtu Financial by 180.0% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 948,590 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,846,000 after purchasing an additional 609,821 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Virtu Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $18,956,000. 45.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.