Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $31.36.

Several analysts recently weighed in on VIRT shares. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Virtu Financial from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th.

Insider Activity

In other Virtu Financial news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 72,967 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.84, for a total transaction of $2,688,104.28. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 90,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,343,193.16. This trade represents a 44.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 34,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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 approximately $5,899,669.23. This represents a 17.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 140,967 shares of company stock valued at $5,213,964. Insiders own 46.70% 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. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the third quarter worth about $1,081,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D bought a new stake in Virtu Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $1,971,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Virtu Financial by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 391,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,970,000 after acquiring an additional 5,371 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Virtu Financial by 60.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,691,000 after acquiring an additional 20,843 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP increased its stake in Virtu Financial by 124.7% during the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 53,785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,638,000 after acquiring an additional 29,844 shares during the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Virtu Financial Stock Down 1.5 %

VIRT stock opened at $35.91 on Friday. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.55. Virtu Financial has a 1-year low of $18.72 and a 1-year high of $41.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.56 billion, a PE ratio of 12.09, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.46.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.32. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 27.39% and a net margin of 9.61%. As a group, research 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, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.32%.

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.