Piper Sandler Issues Positive Forecast for Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) Stock Price

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) had its price target increased by Piper Sandler from $35.00 to $40.00 in a research note published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on VIRT. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective 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. Bank of America reduced their price target 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. Citigroup raised their price objective on Virtu Financial from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.21.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

Shares of VIRT stock opened at $36.18 on Tuesday. Virtu Financial has a twelve month low of $16.02 and a twelve month high of $38.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.45.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $388.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $379.18 million. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 7.29% and a return on equity of 23.22%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Virtu Financial will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 1st were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. Virtu Financial’s payout ratio is 48.24%.

Institutional Trading of Virtu Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new position in Virtu Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $380,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 135.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $203,000 after acquiring an additional 3,276 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 48.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 358,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,907,000 after acquiring an additional 117,062 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Virtu Financial by 65.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 247,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,109,000 after acquiring an additional 97,697 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Optimist Retirement Group LLC purchased a new stake in Virtu Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $244,000. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.