Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) Sets New 1-Year High Following Dividend Announcement

Shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $42.31 and last traded at $41.94, with a volume of 1107927 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.16.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VIRT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $56.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Virtu Financial from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $40.00 price target (up previously from $38.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.88.

Virtu Financial Stock Up 0.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 1.13. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $37.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.58. The firm has a market cap of $6.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.01, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.68.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.31. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 9.61% and a return on equity of 27.39%. The company had revenue of $497.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $444.23 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.76 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 30.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 72,967 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 90,749 shares in the company, valued at $3,343,193.16. This trade represents a 44.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Douglas A. Cifu sold 177,561 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.88, for a total transaction of $6,903,571.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 231,306 shares in the company, valued at $8,993,177.28. This represents a 43.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 496,848 shares of company stock worth $18,995,338. 46.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VIRT. Foundry Partners LLC raised its stake in Virtu Financial by 1.5% during the first quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 18,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $687,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 0.8% in the first quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 33,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,273,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Virtu Financial by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,794 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the period. Mariner LLC increased its stake in Virtu Financial by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 8,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its position in Virtu Financial by 26.0% in the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. 45.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.