Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) Receives $37.25 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the eight analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $37.25.

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI raised 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. Bank of America downgraded shares of 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, May 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $40.00 price target (up previously from $38.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Virtu Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

Virtu Financial stock opened at $44.51 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $41.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.86 billion, a PE ratio of 12.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Virtu Financial has a 12-month low of $21.59 and a 12-month high of $44.96.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $497.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $444.23 million. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 32.08%. The firm’s revenue was up 30.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Virtu Financial will post 3.13 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.75%.

Insider Transactions at Virtu Financial

In other news, CEO Douglas A. Cifu sold 178,320 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 408,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,770,000.19. The trade was a 30.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John Nixon sold 6,965 shares of Virtu Financial 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 completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 362,846 shares of company stock worth $14,079,615 in the last three months. Insiders own 47.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VIRT. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in Virtu Financial by 243.0% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Virtu Financial by 172.7% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in Virtu Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Virtu Financial by 1,624.1% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 942 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Virtu Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Hedge funds and other 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.