Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $43.00.

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Virtu Financial from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Virtu Financial from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd.

Insider Activity at Virtu Financial

In related news, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 28,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.94, for a total transaction of $1,104,727.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 116,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,524,477.54. The trade was a 19.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Joseph Molluso sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.88, for a total transaction of $7,776,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 270,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,458,644. 47.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Virtu Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its position in Virtu Financial by 3,460.0% during the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Virtu Financial by 258.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 713 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 480.6% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 103.8% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 760 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 93.7% during the 3rd quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management now owns 978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 473 shares during the period. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Virtu Financial Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:VIRT opened at $41.99 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.27. Virtu Financial has a 52 week low of $31.55 and a 52 week high of $45.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.49. The company has a market cap of $6.49 billion, a PE ratio of 12.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.61.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.73. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 32.08%. The firm had revenue of $969.89 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $513.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Virtu Financial will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 18.71%.

About Virtu Financial

Virtu Financial, Inc (NASDAQ: VIRT) is a leading global electronic trading firm specializing in market making, liquidity provision and trade execution services across a broad range of asset classes. Leveraging advanced quantitative models and proprietary trading technology, Virtu provides continuous bid and ask quotes in equities, fixed income, foreign exchange, commodities and digital assets. The firm’s infrastructure is designed to operate at high speeds and low latencies, enabling tight spreads and efficient price discovery for its clients.

In addition to its market-making activities, Virtu offers agency execution services, algorithmic trading strategies and transaction cost analysis tools.