Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) Shares Cross Above Fifty Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT) shares crossed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $57.27 and traded as high as $58.49. Virtu Financial shares last traded at $57.8760, with a volume of 1,165,641 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on VIRT shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Virtu Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Virtu Financial in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 6th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Virtu Financial in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Evercore upgraded shares of Virtu Financial to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Virtu Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.25.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.63. The company has a market capitalization of $8.98 billion, a PE ratio of 8.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.49.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $1.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.25. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 49.68% and a net margin of 14.20%. The business had revenue of $956.39 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $647.02 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. Virtu Financial’s revenue was up 147.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 6.46 EPS for the current year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.10%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John Nixon sold 9,094 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.13, for a total value of $546,822.22. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 30,902 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,137.26. The trade was a 22.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Grano, Jr. sold 8,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $511,896.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 33,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,060,625.16. This trade represents a 19.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 46.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtu Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VIRT. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 18,781 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,036,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Independent Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Financial Independent Advisors LLC now owns 11,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $614,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 16.3% in the third quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,679 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in Virtu Financial by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 3.1% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $466,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

About Virtu Financial

Virtu Financial, Inc. is a financial technology firm and electronic market maker that provides liquidity across a range of global financial markets. The company uses technology and quantitative analysis to facilitate trading in asset classes including equities, exchange-traded funds, options, futures, currencies, fixed income and commodities. In addition to market making, Virtu offers execution services and trading technology for institutional investors, broker-dealers and other market participants.