Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) Price Target Lowered to $48.00 at Bank of America

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) had its price target lowered by Bank of America from $56.00 to $48.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Virtu Financial from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.21.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

Virtu Financial stock opened at $39.30 on Wednesday. Virtu Financial has a 12-month low of $20.15 and a 12-month high of $41.38. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.71.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.32. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 9.61% and a return on equity of 27.39%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Virtu Financial will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Virtu Financial news, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 34,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.41, for a total value of $1,271,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 157,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,899,669.23. This represents a 17.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Brett Fairclough sold 72,967 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.84, for a total transaction of $2,688,104.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 90,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,343,193.16. This trade represents a 44.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 140,967 shares of company stock worth $5,213,964. Insiders own 46.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Virtu Financial

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Virtu Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 172.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares during the period. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in Virtu Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Virtu Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. 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.