Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) Shares Cross Above Fifty Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT) shares passed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $57.27 and traded as high as $58.49. Virtu Financial shares last traded at $57.8760, with a volume of 1,165,641 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VIRT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Virtu Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Zacks Research lowered Virtu Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Virtu Financial from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 6th. Finally, Evercore raised Virtu Financial to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.25.

Virtu Financial Stock Up 2.3%

The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.63.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $1.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.25. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 14.20% and a return on equity of 49.68%. The business had revenue of $956.39 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $647.02 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 147.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 6.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st. Virtu Financial’s payout ratio is currently 14.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Virtu Financial

In other Virtu Financial news, Director Joseph Grano, Jr. sold 8,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $511,896.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 33,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,060,625.16. This represents a 19.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John Nixon sold 9,094 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.13, for a total transaction of $546,822.22. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 30,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,137.26. This trade represents a 22.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 46.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Virtu Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its position in Virtu Financial by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 18,781 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,036,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Independent Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 1.9% during the third quarter. Legacy Financial Independent Advisors LLC now owns 11,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $614,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 16.3% during the third quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,679 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 9.2% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 3.1% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $466,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

About Virtu Financial

Virtu Financial, Inc. is a financial technology firm and electronic market maker that provides liquidity across a range of global financial markets. The company uses technology and quantitative analysis to facilitate trading in asset classes including equities, exchange-traded funds, options, futures, currencies, fixed income and commodities. In addition to market making, Virtu offers execution services and trading technology for institutional investors, broker-dealers and other market participants.