Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?
by Michael Walen · The Markets DailyVirtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT – Get Free Report)’s stock price hit 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.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Virtu Financial from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective 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. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Virtu Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Virtu Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.00.
Get Our Latest Research Report on Virtu Financial
Virtu Financial Stock Up 3.7%
The stock has a fifty day moving average of $40.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $7.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.97, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.61.
Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.73. The company had revenue of $969.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $513.51 million. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 48.35% and a net margin of 12.90%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.14 EPS.
Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.71%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, COO Joseph Molluso sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.88, for a total value of $7,776,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 326,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,697,624.80. This represents a 37.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 174,561 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,565,239.21. This represents a 14.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 270,000 shares of company stock worth $10,458,644. 47.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtu Financial
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VIRT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Virtu Financial by 1.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,999,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $354,987,000 after purchasing an additional 142,890 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 64.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,370,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,149,000 after buying an additional 926,376 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,900,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,338,000 after buying an additional 115,612 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,395,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,514,000 after buying an additional 14,113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 53.1% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,367,583 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,549,000 after buying an additional 474,177 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.