Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $44.75 and last traded at $44.67, with a volume of 151011 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $43.75.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on VIRT shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Virtu Financial from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America lowered Virtu Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $43.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up previously from $38.00) on shares of Virtu Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered Virtu Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Virtu Financial from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Virtu Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.25.

Virtu Financial Stock Up 1.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The company has a market capitalization of $6.84 billion, a PE ratio of 12.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.68. The business has a 50-day moving average of $41.15 and a 200 day moving average of $38.39.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $497.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $444.23 million. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 32.08% and a net margin of 10.43%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.76 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Virtu Financial news, Director John Nixon sold 6,965 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total transaction of $298,241.30. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 33,923 shares in the company, valued at $1,452,582.86. This represents a 17.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Douglas A. Cifu sold 177,561 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.88, for a total value of $6,903,571.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 231,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,993,177.28. This trade represents a 43.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 362,846 shares of company stock worth $14,079,615. Corporate insiders own 47.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtu Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its position in Virtu Financial by 2.8% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 10,002 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Militia Capital Partners LP raised its position in Virtu Financial by 357.1% during the first quarter. Militia Capital Partners LP now owns 6,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Virtu Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $782,000. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Virtu Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,674,000. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC raised its position in Virtu Financial by 8.4% during the first quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 176,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,721,000 after purchasing an additional 13,699 shares during the period. 45.78% of the stock is currently 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.