Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Friday morning.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on VRTS. Barclays reduced their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $239.00 to $221.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Virtus Investment Partners from $264.00 to $274.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $224.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Virtus Investment Partners currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $242.50.

Virtus Investment Partners Price Performance

NASDAQ VRTS opened at $209.10 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a PE ratio of 12.71 and a beta of 1.48. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $230.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $220.38. 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 has a 52-week low of $190.42 and a 52-week high of $263.39.

Virtus Investment Partners Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.30%. Virtus Investment Partners’s payout ratio is presently 54.71%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtus Investment Partners

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP lifted its position 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 buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 138.3% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 317 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd boosted its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 57.2% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 610 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.52% of the company’s stock.

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.