Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) Sees Strong Trading Volume Following Analyst Upgrade

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday after The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on the stock from $26.00 to $29.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Approximately 4,416,353 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 239% from the previous session’s volume of 1,301,279 shares.The stock last traded at $31.00 and had previously closed at $30.46.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Virtu Financial from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. StockNews.com raised Virtu Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 19th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Virtu Financial from $25.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.79.

Insider Activity

In other Virtu Financial news, Director Virginia Gambale sold 5,400 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.30, for a total transaction of $147,420.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $658,530.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 46.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtu Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VIRT. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Quarry LP increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 746 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 21.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.43. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $30.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.06. The stock has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a PE ratio of 21.80, a PEG ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 0.38.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $385.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $331.92 million. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 22.74% and a net margin of 7.59%. The company’s revenue was up 38.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.29 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 1st were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Virtu Financial’s payout ratio is currently 67.13%.

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.