Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) Price Target Raised to $39.00

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) had its target price lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $37.00 to $39.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up previously from $38.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $56.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Virtu Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $26.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.88.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VIRT opened at $38.36 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The business has a 50-day moving average of $36.83 and a 200-day moving average of $36.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.92, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.71. Virtu Financial has a fifty-two week low of $21.38 and a fifty-two week high of $41.38.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.32. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 27.39% and a net margin of 9.61%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Virtu Financial will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.32%.

Insider Transactions at Virtu Financial

In other Virtu Financial news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 72,967 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.84, for a total value of $2,688,104.28. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 90,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,343,193.16. This represents a 44.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 34,000 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.88, for a total value of $1,253,920.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 191,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,070,006.64. This represents a 15.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 140,967 shares of company stock worth $5,213,964 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 46.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtu Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 33,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,273,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,794 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $100,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the period. Mariner LLC grew its position in Virtu Financial by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 8,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. grew its position in Virtu Financial by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 30,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,075,000 after buying an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Virtu Financial by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 14,826 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 392 shares during the period. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.