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

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) shares hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $37.00 and last traded at $36.96, with a volume of 304179 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.94.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.60%. 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. Citigroup upped 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 target price on Virtu Financial from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Virtu Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Virtu Financial from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.50.

Virtu Financial Trading Up 0.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a PE ratio of 18.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $32.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $388.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $379.18 million. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 23.22% and a net margin of 7.29%. Virtu Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 30.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.40 EPS. Analysts expect that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtu Financial

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 60.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,691,000 after purchasing an additional 20,843 shares during the last quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Virtu Financial in the third quarter valued at $826,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 24.5% in the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 27,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $850,000 after acquiring an additional 5,489 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Virtu Financial in the third quarter valued at $2,370,000. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC acquired a new position in Virtu Financial in the third quarter valued at $394,000. 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.