Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $22.24.

VIRT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on Virtu Financial from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Virtu Financial from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Virtu Financial from $20.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Virtu Financial from $22.50 to $24.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Virtu Financial from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Virtu Financial

In other Virtu Financial news, CEO Douglas A. Cifu acquired 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $16.21 per share, for a total transaction of $810,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 584,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,468,779.72. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 44.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtu Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. WBI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Virtu Financial in the first quarter worth about $653,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Virtu Financial during the first quarter worth about $1,238,000. Pullen Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Virtu Financial during the first quarter worth about $1,328,000. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. grew its position in Virtu Financial by 15.3% during the first quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. now owns 353,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,247,000 after buying an additional 46,898 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in Virtu Financial by 28.6% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 14,199 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 3,162 shares in the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Virtu Financial stock opened at $22.54 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.56 billion, a PE ratio of 15.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Virtu Financial has a 12 month low of $16.02 and a 12 month high of $22.80.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.26%. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.13%.

Virtu Financial Company Profile

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.