Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) Reaches New 12-Month Low on Analyst Downgrade

Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) reached a new 52-week low on Friday after Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on the stock from $211.00 to $198.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an underweight rating on the stock. Virtus Investment Partners traded as low as $190.11 and last traded at $190.57, with a volume of 4371 shares. The stock had previously closed at $191.27.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on VRTS. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $274.00 to $258.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $221.00 to $200.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Virtus Investment Partners has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $225.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtus Investment Partners

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Quarry LP increased its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 388.5% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 127 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 170.3% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 138.3% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 317 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Virtus Investment Partners during the fourth quarter valued at about $75,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.52% of the company’s stock.

Virtus Investment Partners Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.28 and a beta of 1.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $221.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $218.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 11.86 and a current ratio of 11.86.

Virtus Investment Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Virtus Investment Partners’s payout ratio is presently 53.25%.

Virtus Investment Partners Company Profile

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.