Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) Sets New 52-Week High Following Dividend Announcement

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $38.45 and last traded at $37.53, with a volume of 80600 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.71.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st will be paid 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 yield of 2.56%. Virtu Financial’s payout ratio is 48.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Virtu Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Virtu Financial from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.50.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $5.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $32.80 and a 200 day moving average of $28.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.03. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 23.22% and a net margin of 7.29%. The firm had revenue of $388.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $379.18 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.40 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 30.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in Virtu Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Virtu Financial during the second quarter worth $39,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Virtu Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $46,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 21.0% during 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. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 55.3% in the 1st quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 781 shares in the last quarter. 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.