Brokerages Set Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) PT at $37.88

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $37.25.

VIRT has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Virtu Financial from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. 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, April 24th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $40.00 price target (up previously from $38.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Virtu Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $43.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday.

Insider Transactions at Virtu Financial

In related news, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 34,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.41, for a total transaction of $1,271,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 157,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,899,669.23. This represents a 17.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Douglas A. Cifu sold 178,320 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.57, for a total transaction of $6,877,802.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 408,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,770,000.19. The trade was a 30.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 396,846 shares of company stock valued at $15,351,555 over the last three months. 47.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtu Financial

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Virtu Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 243.0% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 554 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 172.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the first quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

Virtu Financial Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ VIRT opened at $41.45 on Wednesday. Virtu Financial has a 12-month low of $21.55 and a 12-month high of $44.58. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a market cap of $6.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.68.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.31. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 9.61% and a return on equity of 27.39%. The business had revenue of $497.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $444.23 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. Virtu Financial’s revenue was up 30.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Virtu Financial will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.75%.

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.