Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) Sets New 1-Year High at $32.46

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $32.46 and last traded at $32.28, with a volume of 18322 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $32.04.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VIRT has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on Virtu Financial from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Bank of America boosted their price target on Virtu Financial from $25.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of Virtu Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.36.

Virtu Financial Stock Down 0.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.12.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.23. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 22.74%. The firm had revenue of $385.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $331.92 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.29 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 1st were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.13%.

Insider Transactions at Virtu Financial

In other Virtu Financial news, Director Virginia Gambale sold 5,400 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.30, for a total value of $147,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 24,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $658,530.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 46.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Virtu Financial

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Virtu Financial by 76.5% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 73,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,510,000 after acquiring an additional 31,884 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the first quarter valued at about $1,238,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Virtu Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $12,575,000. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Virtu Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $957,000. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,368,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.