Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) Price Target Raised to $22.50

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) had its price objective lifted by Citigroup from $21.00 to $22.50 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on VIRT. UBS Group reduced their price target on Virtu Financial from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Piper Sandler restated an overweight rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of Virtu Financial in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Virtu Financial from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 29th. StockNews.com cut Virtu Financial from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Virtu Financial in a report on Tuesday, November 28th. They issued a buy rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $19.92.

Virtu Financial Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of Virtu Financial stock opened at $20.52 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.46. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.35. The firm has a market cap of $3.24 billion, a PE ratio of 14.66, a P/E/G ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 0.38. Virtu Financial has a 52-week low of $16.02 and a 52-week high of $21.03.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $535.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $272.96 million. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 6.22% and a return on equity of 16.94%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Virtu Financial will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.68%. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.57%.

Insider Transactions at Virtu Financial

In other news, CEO Douglas A. Cifu acquired 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $16.21 per share, with a total value of $810,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 584,132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,468,779.72. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 44.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Virtu Financial

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Harbour Investments Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 123.8% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 236.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,581 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 8,400.0% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,680 shares in the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Virtu Financial

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.