Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $56.48 and last traded at $55.1020, with a volume of 1806564 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $54.49.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VIRT. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Virtu Financial from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Virtu Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. Zacks Research raised shares of Virtu Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Virtu Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.67.

Virtu Financial Trading Down 0.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company has a fifty day moving average of $47.33 and a 200-day moving average of $40.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.33 billion, a PE ratio of 8.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.58. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 51.63% and a net margin of 14.17%.The business had revenue of $786.53 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $613.12 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. Virtu Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 30.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.89%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total transaction of $1,501,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 42,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,126,198.38. This trade represents a 41.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 46.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Virtu Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 3,460.0% during the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 712 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Virtu Financial by 258.3% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Virtu Financial by 103.8% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Virtu Financial by 480.6% during the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in Virtu Financial by 51.9% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Virtu Financial

Virtu Financial, Inc is a technology-driven electronic trading firm and market maker that provides liquidity and price discovery across a wide range of financial instruments. Leveraging advanced analytics, high-performance computing and proprietary algorithms, Virtu operates in equities, fixed income, foreign exchange, commodities and derivative products. Its technology platform is designed to capture bid-ask spreads in real time, manage risk through automated controls and adapt to changing market conditions.

The company offers a suite of execution services and market-making solutions to institutional clients such as asset managers, banks, broker-dealers and hedge funds.