Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?
by Renee Jackson · The Cerbat GemVirtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT – Get Free Report)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $46.30 and last traded at $46.03, with a volume of 656980 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $44.39.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of brokerages have issued reports on VIRT. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Virtu Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research lowered Virtu Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.00.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Virtu Financial
Virtu Financial Trading Down 0.4%
The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $40.58 and its 200-day moving average is $36.58. The company has a market capitalization of $7.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.54.
Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.73. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 48.35% and a net margin of 12.90%.The business 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 firm posted $1.14 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis.
Virtu Financial Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.71%.
Insider Transactions at Virtu Financial
In other Virtu Financial news, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.61, for a total transaction of $1,128,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 174,561 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,565,239.21. This trade represents a 14.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Joseph Molluso sold 200,000 shares of Virtu Financial 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 transaction, the chief operating officer owned 326,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,697,624.80. The trade was a 37.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VIRT. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 12,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $431,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC boosted its stake in Virtu Financial by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 8,277 shares of the company’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in Virtu Financial by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in Virtu Financial by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 18,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $608,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in Virtu Financial by 51.9% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 972 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.78% of the company’s stock.
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.