Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) Sets New 52-Week High Following Dividend Announcement

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $22.80 and last traded at $22.30, with a volume of 433800 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $21.19.

The newly announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. Virtu Financial’s payout ratio is 67.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on VIRT shares. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $20.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com raised shares of Virtu Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.33.

Virtu Financial Stock Up 2.6 %

The company has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $19.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.82.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $535.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $272.96 million. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 6.04% and a return on equity of 17.14%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 1.8 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Douglas A. Cifu acquired 50,000 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $16.21 per share, with a total value of $810,500.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 584,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,468,779.72. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 44.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Virtu Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Virtu Financial by 79.9% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 746 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Virtu Financial by 112.3% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,127 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Virtu Financial by 48.1% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 1,161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Virtu Financial by 1,867.8% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 3,885 shares in the last quarter. 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.