The Goldman Sachs Group Boosts Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) Price Target to $21.70

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) had its target price upped by The Goldman Sachs Group from $19.20 to $21.70 in a research note released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $20.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Virtu Financial from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $22.24.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

VIRT stock opened at $21.62 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $19.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.89. The company has a market capitalization of $3.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.12, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.40. Virtu Financial has a 52-week low of $16.02 and a 52-week high of $22.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.46.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, June 1st will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. Virtu Financial’s payout ratio is 67.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Douglas A. Cifu purchased 50,000 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $16.21 per share, for a total transaction of $810,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 584,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,468,779.72. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 44.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtu Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VIRT. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $12,575,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 7.6% during the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 8,347,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $144,158,000 after acquiring an additional 588,749 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 156.9% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 801,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,834,000 after acquiring an additional 489,264 shares in the last quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. increased its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 913.6% during the fourth quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. now owns 306,289 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,205,000 after acquiring an additional 276,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial during the third quarter worth about $2,294,000. 45.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.