Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) Reaches New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $48.30 and last traded at $47.6190, with a volume of 1117651 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $47.49.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on VIRT shares. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Virtu Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Virtu Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.00.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $7.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.67, a P/E/G ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.94.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.73. The firm had revenue of $969.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $513.51 million. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 48.35%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Joseph Molluso sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.88, for a total transaction of $7,776,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 326,585 shares in the company, valued at $12,697,624.80. This represents a 37.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.61, for a total transaction of $1,128,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 174,561 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,565,239.21. This represents a 14.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 270,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,458,644. 47.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtu Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its position in Virtu Financial by 3,460.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 692 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Virtu Financial by 258.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Virtu Financial by 480.6% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 692 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Virtu Financial by 103.8% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares during the period. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management increased its position in Virtu Financial by 93.7% in the 3rd quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management now owns 978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares during the period. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Virtu Financial

Virtu Financial, Inc is a technology-driven electronic trading firm and market maker that provides liquidity and price discovery across a wide range of financial instruments. Leveraging advanced analytics, high-performance computing and proprietary algorithms, Virtu operates in equities, fixed income, foreign exchange, commodities and derivative products. Its technology platform is designed to capture bid-ask spreads in real time, manage risk through automated controls and adapt to changing market conditions.

The company offers a suite of execution services and market-making solutions to institutional clients such as asset managers, banks, broker-dealers and hedge funds.