Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) Price Target Raised to $21.70 at The Goldman Sachs Group

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) had its price target upped by The Goldman Sachs Group from $19.20 to $21.70 in a research report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on VIRT. Bank of America upped their target price on Virtu Financial from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Virtu Financial from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Virtu Financial from $20.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group cut their price objective on Virtu Financial from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Virtu Financial from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $22.24.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

Virtu Financial stock opened at $22.02 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $19.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The company has a market capitalization of $3.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.40. Virtu Financial has a 12-month low of $16.02 and a 12-month high of $22.80.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.13). Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 17.14% and a net margin of 6.04%. The business had revenue of $535.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $272.96 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.32 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Virtu Financial will post 1.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 15th. Investors of record on Saturday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.36%. Virtu Financial’s payout ratio is currently 67.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Virtu Financial

In other news, CEO Douglas A. Cifu purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $16.21 per share, for a total transaction of $810,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 584,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,468,779.72. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 44.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtu Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in Virtu Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 79.9% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 746 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 112.3% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,127 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 48.1% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 1,161 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Virtu Financial by 1,867.8% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 3,885 shares during the period. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.