Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) Sets New 12-Month High at $31.75

Shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $31.75 and last traded at $31.65, with a volume of 278260 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $31.13.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on VIRT shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Citigroup upped their price target on Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Virtu Financial from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Virtu Financial from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Virtu Financial from $25.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.36.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.43. The company has a market capitalization of $4.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.52.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.23. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 22.74% and a net margin of 7.59%. The business had revenue of $385.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $331.92 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 1st will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Virginia Gambale sold 5,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.30, for a total transaction of $147,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 24,122 shares in the company, valued at $658,530.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 46.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtu Financial

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $12,575,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Virtu Financial in the second quarter valued at $9,751,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Virtu Financial by 39.2% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,215,833 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,295,000 after acquiring an additional 342,327 shares in the last quarter. Interval Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the first quarter worth about $5,050,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial during the first quarter worth about $4,349,000. 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.