Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on VRTS. Barclays assumed coverage on Virtus Investment Partners in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $206.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $208.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $233.50.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Down 1.2 %

VRTS stock opened at $238.99 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a PE ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 15.18, a current ratio of 11.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Virtus Investment Partners has a twelve month low of $190.42 and a twelve month high of $263.39. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $213.45 and its 200-day moving average is $218.91.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtus Investment Partners

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners during the 2nd quarter valued at $6,776,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 78.1% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 50,952 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $11,508,000 after purchasing an additional 22,344 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 6.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 255,536 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $53,522,000 after purchasing an additional 16,586 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners in the second quarter worth about $2,553,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd increased its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 80.2% in the first quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 23,506 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $5,825,000 after purchasing an additional 10,461 shares in the last quarter. 80.52% of the stock is 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.