Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) Hits New 1-Year High - Here's Why

Shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $44.75 and last traded at $44.67, with a volume of 151011 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $43.75.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VIRT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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 boosted 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. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up from $38.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $43.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Virtu Financial has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $37.25.

Virtu Financial Trading Up 0.5%

The firm has a market capitalization of $6.89 billion, a PE ratio of 12.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.68. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $41.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.40. 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 (NASDAQ:VIRT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $497.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $444.23 million. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 32.08%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 30.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.76 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Virtu Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.75%.

Insider Transactions at Virtu Financial

In other news, CEO Douglas A. Cifu sold 177,561 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.88, for a total transaction of $6,903,571.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 231,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,993,177.28. This trade represents a 43.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John Nixon sold 6,965 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total transaction of $298,241.30. Following the transaction, the director owned 33,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,452,582.86. This represents a 17.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 362,846 shares of company stock valued at $14,079,615. 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. Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in Virtu Financial by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 27,756 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $990,000 after acquiring an additional 3,598 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter worth $1,032,000. West Michigan Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter worth $288,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 172.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 870 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 551 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. 45.78% of the stock is currently 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.