Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $52.26 and last traded at $52.3470, with a volume of 215794 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.85.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Virtu Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Virtu Financial from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Virtu Financial from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Virtu Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Virtu Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.67.

Virtu Financial Stock Up 3.6%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.35. The company has a market cap of $8.33 billion, a PE ratio of 8.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.62.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $613.12 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 30.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 5.48 EPS for the current year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Joseph Molluso sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.88, for a total value of $7,776,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 326,585 shares in the company, valued at $12,697,624.80. This trade represents a 37.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Brett Fairclough sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total value of $1,501,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 42,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,126,198.38. This represents a 41.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 288,370 shares of company stock worth $11,510,828. Insiders own 46.76% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtu Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VIRT. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 64.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,370,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,149,000 after acquiring an additional 926,376 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 290.3% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,132,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,730,000 after purchasing an additional 842,247 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 565.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 815,143 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,161,000 after purchasing an additional 692,643 shares during the period. Algebris UK Ltd. purchased a new position in Virtu Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $22,377,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Virtu Financial by 41.9% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,928,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,607,000 after purchasing an additional 569,057 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

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.