Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) Stock Price Down 5.1% – What’s Next?

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)’s stock price dropped 5.1% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $29.82 and last traded at $30.71. Approximately 301,821 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 1,273,898 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.35.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on VIRT shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Virtu Financial from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Virtu Financial from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Virtu Financial from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Virtu Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.50.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $31.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.37. The stock has a market cap of $4.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.35, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.38.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, September 1st were given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Virtu Financial’s payout ratio is 48.49%.

Insider Transactions at Virtu Financial

In related news, Director Virginia Gambale sold 5,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.30, for a total transaction of $147,420.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,122 shares in the company, valued at $658,530.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 46.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Virtu Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $247,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Virtu Financial in the first quarter worth about $26,000. First Bank & Trust boosted its position in Virtu Financial by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 19,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $402,000 after acquiring an additional 734 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 745,437 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,296,000 after acquiring an additional 9,826 shares during the period. Finally, Norden Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Virtu Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $616,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.