Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) Hits New 1-Year High After Dividend Announcement

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $38.45 and last traded at $37.53, with a volume of 80600 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $36.71.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VIRT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup raised their price target on Virtu Financial from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Virtu Financial from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Virtu Financial in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Virtu Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.50.

Virtu Financial Trading Up 2.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $5.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $32.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.42.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $388.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $379.18 million. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 7.29% and a return on equity of 23.22%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.40 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtu Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 38.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,974,095 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $151,511,000 after purchasing an additional 1,368,419 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the third quarter worth $29,815,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Virtu Financial during the second quarter valued at $9,751,000. Portolan Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Virtu Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $11,918,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 39.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,215,833 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,295,000 after purchasing an additional 342,327 shares during the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Virtu Financial Company Profile

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.