Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) PT Raised to $24.50

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) had its price target lifted by Citigroup from $22.50 to $24.50 in a report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on VIRT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Virtu Financial from $20.00 to $21.50 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America raised their target price on Virtu Financial from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Virtu Financial from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Virtu Financial from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Virtu Financial from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $22.24.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:VIRT opened at $22.02 on Thursday. Virtu Financial has a 52 week low of $16.02 and a 52 week high of $22.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.48 billion, a PE ratio of 15.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $19.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.89.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.13). Virtu Financial had a net margin of 6.04% and a return on equity of 17.14%. The business had revenue of $535.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $272.96 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.32 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Virtu Financial will post 1.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, June 1st will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.36%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Virtu Financial news, CEO Douglas A. Cifu bought 50,000 shares of the firm’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 purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 584,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,468,779.72. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 44.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $12,575,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 8,347,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $144,158,000 after buying an additional 588,749 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 156.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 801,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,834,000 after buying an additional 489,264 shares during the period. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. raised its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 913.6% during the 4th quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. now owns 306,289 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,205,000 after buying an additional 276,071 shares during the period. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,294,000. 45.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.