Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) Price Target Raised to $24.50

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

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Virtu Financial from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Virtu Financial from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Morgan Stanley upped 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. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Virtu Financial from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $22.24.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

VIRT traded down $0.25 on Thursday, reaching $22.15. The company had a trading volume of 615,869 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,082,232. The company’s fifty day moving average is $19.45 and its 200 day moving average is $18.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.40. Virtu Financial has a fifty-two week low of $16.02 and a fifty-two week high of $22.80.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $535.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $272.96 million. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 6.04% and a return on equity of 17.14%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Virtu Financial will post 1.8 earnings per share 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 given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Douglas A. Cifu purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was bought 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 $9,468,779.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 44.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtu Financial

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VIRT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $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 buying an additional 588,749 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 489,264 shares during the last quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. lifted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 913.6% in the fourth 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 bought a new stake in Virtu Financial during the third quarter valued at $2,294,000. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.