Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Monday.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered 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 report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $211.00 to $198.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays cut 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 research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Virtus Investment Partners currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $225.75.

Virtus Investment Partners Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of VRTS stock opened at $183.17 on Monday. Virtus Investment Partners has a 1 year low of $179.38 and a 1 year high of $263.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $202.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $214.37. The company has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.84 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 11.86 and a quick ratio of 11.86.

Virtus Investment Partners Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.91%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Virtus Investment Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in 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 worth $1,931,000 after purchasing an additional 7,886 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 145,386 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $30,451,000 after acquiring an additional 3,651 shares during the last quarter. Private Client Services LLC purchased a new position in Virtus Investment Partners during the 4th quarter valued at $799,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners during the third quarter worth $482,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 6.9% in 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.52% of the company’s stock.

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.