Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $46.30 and last traded at $46.03, with a volume of 656980 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.39.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VIRT has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Virtu Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Virtu Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Virtu Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.00.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.44. The company has a market capitalization of $7.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.73. The business had revenue of $969.89 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $513.51 million. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 48.35%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 18.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Virtu Financial

In other news, COO Joseph Molluso sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.88, for a total value of $7,776,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 326,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,697,624.80. This represents a 37.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.61, for a total transaction of $1,128,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 174,561 shares in the company, valued at $6,565,239.21. The trade was a 14.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 270,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,458,644. 47.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Virtu Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Summit Global Investments grew its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 36,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,229,000 after acquiring an additional 5,641 shares in the last quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lifted its stake in Virtu Financial by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 57,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,915,000 after purchasing an additional 7,477 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter worth $592,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Virtu Financial by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 12,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Virtu Financial by 40.9% during the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 304,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,148,000 after purchasing an additional 88,420 shares during the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Virtu Financial Company Profile

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.