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

Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday after TD Cowen lowered their price target on the stock from $220.00 to $158.00. TD Cowen currently has a hold rating on the stock. Virtus Investment Partners traded as low as $145.92 and last traded at $147.08, with a volume of 43168 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $150.98.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on VRTS. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $211.00 to $198.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Virtus Investment Partners from $221.00 to $200.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Virtus Investment Partners from $252.00 to $216.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Virtus Investment Partners from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Virtus Investment Partners currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $193.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtus Investment Partners

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VRTS. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 8,517.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,894 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,188,000 after acquiring an additional 6,814 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 174.7% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,511 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $774,000 after purchasing an additional 2,233 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 17,329 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $3,822,000 after purchasing an additional 913 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 23.0% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 2,831 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $624,000 after buying an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC grew its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 4,057 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $895,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.52% of the company’s stock.

Virtus Investment Partners Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.39 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 11.86, a current ratio of 11.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $177.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $206.96.

Virtus Investment Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.67%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Virtus Investment Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.25%.

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.