Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) Price Target Raised to $35.00

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) had its price objective hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $31.00 to $35.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an underweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up previously from $38.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Virtu Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Bank of America lowered Virtu Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $43.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.13.

Virtu Financial Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of VIRT opened at $45.23 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.16. The stock has a market cap of $6.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.70. Virtu Financial has a 1-year low of $24.26 and a 1-year high of $45.50.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.31. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 32.08%. The business had revenue of $497.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $444.23 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.76 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 30.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Virtu Financial will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. Virtu Financial’s payout ratio is 27.75%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John Nixon sold 6,965 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total transaction of $298,241.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 33,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,452,582.86. This trade represents a 17.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Douglas A. Cifu sold 177,561 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.88, for a total value of $6,903,571.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 231,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,993,177.28. The trade was a 43.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 362,846 shares of company stock valued at $14,079,615. Company insiders own 46.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial during the 4th quarter worth $1,032,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $12,196,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Virtu Financial by 98.7% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 13,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $469,000 after acquiring an additional 6,535 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 108,299 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,864,000 after purchasing an additional 5,679 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $344,000. Institutional investors own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

Virtu Financial Company Profile

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.