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

Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading 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 traded. The stock had previously closed at $191.27.

VRTS has been the topic of several other research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $274.00 to $258.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective 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, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $225.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtus Investment Partners

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 592.0% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 9,218 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,931,000 after buying an additional 7,886 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 145,386 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $30,451,000 after buying an additional 3,651 shares during the period. Private Client Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners in the 4th quarter valued at $799,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Virtus Investment Partners during the 3rd quarter valued at about $482,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 255,536 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $53,522,000 after purchasing an additional 16,586 shares during the last quarter. 80.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $220.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $217.88. The company has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.16 and a beta of 1.47. 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.77%. Virtus Investment Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.