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

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on VIRT shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Virtu Financial in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Virtu Financial from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Virtu Financial from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research raised Virtu Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Virtu Financial from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.67.

Virtu Financial Stock Up 3.8%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $8.92 billion, a PE ratio of 9.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $50.73 and a 200 day moving average of $42.14.

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

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. 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 related news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total transaction of $1,501,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 42,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,126,198.38. This trade represents a 41.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 46.76% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtu Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Virtu Financial by 258.3% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its holdings in Virtu Financial by 3,460.0% during the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Virtu Financial by 480.6% during the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Virtu Financial by 103.8% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the period. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management grew its holdings in Virtu Financial by 93.7% during the third quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management now owns 978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the period. 45.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.