Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) Price Target Raised to $21.50

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) had its target price boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $20.00 to $21.50 in a research report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on VIRT. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Bank of America raised their price target on Virtu Financial from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Virtu Financial from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Virtu Financial from $21.00 to $22.50 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $22.24.

Virtu Financial Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VIRT opened at $22.02 on Thursday. Virtu Financial has a fifty-two week low of $16.02 and a fifty-two week high of $22.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.87. The company has a market cap of $3.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.40.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.32 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Virtu Financial will post 1.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.36%. Virtu Financial’s payout ratio is 67.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Virtu Financial

In other news, CEO Douglas A. Cifu bought 50,000 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $16.21 per share, with a total value of $810,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 584,132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,468,779.72. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 44.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtu Financial

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 3.9% during the first quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 19,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 734 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 79.9% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 746 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Virtu Financial by 0.5% in the third quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 171,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,955,000 after acquiring an additional 848 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 112.3% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 48.1% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 1,161 shares during the period. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.