Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) Hits New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $180.18 and last traded at $179.21, with a volume of 16385 shares. The stock had previously closed at $182.29.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on VRTS. Barclays dropped 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler dropped their target price 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $225.75.

Virtus Investment Partners Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.65 and a beta of 1.47. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $207.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $214.75. The company has a current ratio of 11.86, a quick ratio of 11.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Virtus Investment Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Virtus Investment Partners’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.25%.

Institutional Trading of Virtus Investment Partners

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP increased its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 388.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 127 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 170.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 138.3% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 317 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners during the 4th quarter worth $75,000. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 395 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 150 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.