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

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $40.88 and last traded at $40.99, with a volume of 272119 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $40.09.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VIRT. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Virtu Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.21.

Virtu Financial Trading Up 2.2 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $6.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.78, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.46. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $36.92 and its 200 day moving average is $33.37.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.32. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 27.39% and a net margin of 9.61%. On average, research analysts forecast that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake 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 valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. grew its holdings in Virtu Financial by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 30,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,075,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the period. HBW Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Virtu Financial by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc lifted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 7.2% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 10,724 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $327,000 after buying an additional 717 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

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.