Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) Price Target Raised to $21.50

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) had its target price boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $20.00 to $21.50 in a research report report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Virtu Financial from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Citigroup raised their target price on Virtu Financial from $21.00 to $22.50 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Virtu Financial from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $22.24.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VIRT opened at $22.02 on Thursday. Virtu Financial has a one year low of $16.02 and a one year high of $22.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The company has a market cap of $3.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.87.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $535.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $272.96 million. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 17.14% and a net margin of 6.04%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Virtu Financial will post 1.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, June 1st will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.36%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. Virtu Financial’s payout ratio is 67.13%.

Insider Activity at Virtu Financial

In other news, CEO Douglas A. Cifu bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 584,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,468,779.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 44.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VIRT. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Virtu Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $12,575,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Virtu Financial by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 8,347,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $144,158,000 after buying an additional 588,749 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 156.9% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 801,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,834,000 after purchasing an additional 489,264 shares during the period. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. lifted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 913.6% in the 4th quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. now owns 306,289 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,205,000 after buying an additional 276,071 shares during the period. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,294,000. Institutional investors own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

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.