Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT) hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $56.78 and last traded at $56.8920, with a volume of 45477 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $55.44.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VIRT has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Virtu Financial in a report on Friday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Virtu Financial from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Virtu Financial from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Virtu Financial from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Virtu Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Virtu Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.67.

Virtu Financial Stock Up 3.8%

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $50.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.61.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.58. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 51.63% and a net margin of 14.17%.The firm had revenue of $786.53 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $613.12 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.89%.

Insider Activity at Virtu Financial

In other news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total value of $1,501,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 42,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,126,198.38. This trade represents a 41.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 46.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtu Financial

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VIRT. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Virtu Financial by 1,624.1% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 942 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in Virtu Financial during the first quarter valued at $222,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Virtu Financial during the first quarter valued at $1,934,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Virtu Financial by 13.4% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 226,233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,624,000 after buying an additional 26,743 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning bought a new stake in Virtu Financial during the second quarter valued at $235,000. Institutional investors own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

About Virtu Financial

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.