Bank of America Has Lowered Expectations for Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) Stock Price

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT - Free Report) had its price target lowered by Bank of America from $56.00 to $48.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider's stock.

VIRT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Virtu Financial from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $33.21.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

Shares of VIRT traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $35.15. The stock had a trading volume of 1,350,671 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,170,803. The business has a fifty day moving average of $37.41 and a 200 day moving average of $35.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $5.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.84, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.71. Virtu Financial has a 12 month low of $20.15 and a 12 month high of $41.38.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.32. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 9.61% and a return on equity of 27.39%. Equities analysts predict that Virtu Financial will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. Virtu Financial's payout ratio is currently 32.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 34,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.41, for a total value of $1,271,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 157,703 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,899,669.23. This represents a 17.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Brett Fairclough sold 72,967 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.84, for a total value of $2,688,104.28. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 90,749 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,343,193.16. This represents a 44.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 140,967 shares of company stock worth $5,213,964. 46.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtu Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 4,474.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 260,131 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,916,000 after buying an additional 254,445 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter worth $954,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,657 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $594,000 after purchasing an additional 3,468 shares in the last quarter. Brucke Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $240,000. Finally, Virtue Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Virtu Financial by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 28,967 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,034,000 after buying an additional 1,849 shares during the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.