Analysts Set Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) Price Target at $37.88

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $37.25.

VIRT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Virtu Financial from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America downgraded Virtu Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $43.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group reaffirmed 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Virtu Financial from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th.

Insider Transactions at Virtu Financial

In other Virtu Financial news, Director John Nixon sold 6,965 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total transaction of $298,241.30. Following the sale, the director now owns 33,923 shares in the company, valued at $1,452,582.86. This represents a 17.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 34,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.41, for a total value of $1,271,940.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 157,703 shares in the company, valued at $5,899,669.23. The trade was a 17.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 396,846 shares of company stock valued at $15,351,555 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 47.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Virtu Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VIRT. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Virtu Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Virtu Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 243.0% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 551 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in Virtu Financial during the first quarter worth about $32,000. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

VIRT stock opened at $41.45 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $6.39 billion, a PE ratio of 13.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.68. Virtu Financial has a 12-month low of $21.55 and a 12-month high of $44.58. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $38.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.17.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.31. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 27.39% and a net margin of 9.61%. The business had revenue of $497.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $444.23 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.76 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Virtu Financial will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly 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 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Virtu Financial’s payout ratio is 27.75%.

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.