Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the seven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $30.21.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtu Financial

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

Virtu Financial Stock Up 1.0 %

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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $36.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price 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 PE ratio of 13.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.45.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.09 EPS 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, research analysts anticipate that Virtu Financial will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued 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 is Friday, February 28th. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.