Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) Sets New 52-Week High Following Dividend Announcement

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $22.80 and last traded at $22.30, with a volume of 433800 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.19.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Saturday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on VIRT shares. Piper Sandler increased their target price 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. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $22.50 to $24.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Virtu Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.33.

Virtu Financial Trading Up 2.6 %

The company has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $19.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.82.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $535.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $272.96 million. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 17.14% and a net margin of 6.04%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.32 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 1.8 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Virtu Financial

In other news, CEO Douglas A. Cifu bought 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $16.21 per share, for a total transaction of $810,500.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 584,132 shares in the company, valued at $9,468,779.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 44.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtu Financial

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 8,347,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $144,158,000 after purchasing an additional 588,749 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Virtu Financial by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,868,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,851,000 after acquiring an additional 92,279 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Virtu Financial by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,123,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,760,000 after acquiring an additional 86,313 shares in the last quarter. Gratus Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Gratus Capital LLC now owns 832,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,867,000 after acquiring an additional 46,719 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 817,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,111,000 after acquiring an additional 13,443 shares in the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.