Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) Price Target Cut to $264.00 by Analysts at Piper Sandler

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) had its price objective cut by Piper Sandler from $267.00 to $264.00 in a research note published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the closed-end fund’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on VRTS. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $211.00 to $224.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $250.00 to $247.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th.

Virtus Investment Partners Trading Up 0.5 %

VRTS stock opened at $230.93 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $225.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $232.12. Virtus Investment Partners has a 1 year low of $168.78 and a 1 year high of $263.39. The stock has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a PE ratio of 13.91 and a beta of 1.46.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The closed-end fund reported $5.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.41. The business had revenue of $200.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $203.54 million. Virtus Investment Partners had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 14.02%. On average, analysts forecast that Virtus Investment Partners will post 26.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virtus Investment Partners Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be paid a $1.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Virtus Investment Partners’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Barry M. Mandinach sold 7,886 shares of Virtus Investment Partners stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.00, for a total value of $1,845,324.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,905,812. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners during the 4th quarter valued at $14,649,000. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 120.8% during the 4th quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 31,620 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $7,644,000 after buying an additional 17,300 shares during the last quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management acquired a new stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners during the 1st quarter worth about $4,145,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 106.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 22,828 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $5,519,000 after buying an additional 11,792 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Virtus Investment Partners in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,553,000. 80.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Virtus Investment Partners

Virtus Investment Partners, Inc is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to individual and institutional clients. It launches separate client focused equity and fixed income portfolios. The firm launches equity, fixed income, and balanced mutual funds for its clients.