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

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the seven brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $27.36.

VIRT has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Virtu Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 19th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Virtu Financial from $25.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. UBS Group upped their target price on Virtu Financial from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Virtu Financial from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Virtu Financial

In other news, Director Virginia Gambale sold 5,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.30, for a total value of $147,420.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,122 shares in the company, valued at approximately $658,530.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 46.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtu Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VIRT. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Virtu Financial by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,643,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $81,801,000 after acquiring an additional 124,563 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Virtu Financial by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,868,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,851,000 after purchasing an additional 92,279 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Virtu Financial by 39.2% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,215,833 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,295,000 after buying an additional 342,327 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,123,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,760,000 after buying an additional 86,313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gratus Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Gratus Capital LLC now owns 832,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,867,000 after buying an additional 46,719 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

Virtu Financial Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of VIRT stock opened at $31.44 on Friday. Virtu Financial has a fifty-two week low of $16.02 and a fifty-two week high of $31.75. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $27.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $4.94 billion, a PE ratio of 21.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.39.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.23. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 22.74% and a net margin of 7.59%. The firm had revenue of $385.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $331.92 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.29 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 38.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Virtu Financial will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 1st will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. Virtu Financial’s payout ratio is presently 67.13%.

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.