Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $30.21.

Several analysts recently weighed in on VIRT shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtu Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the third quarter worth about $1,081,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D acquired a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,971,000. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Virtu Financial by 60.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,691,000 after buying an additional 20,843 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP increased its position in Virtu Financial by 124.7% during the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 53,785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,638,000 after buying an additional 29,844 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Virtu Financial by 48.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 358,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,907,000 after buying an additional 117,062 shares during the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VIRT opened at $40.06 on Monday. Virtu Financial has a 52 week low of $16.02 and a 52 week high of $40.79. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The company has a market cap of $6.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.45.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.32. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 27.69% and a net margin of 9.61%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Virtu Financial will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.32%.

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.