Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) Sets New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday after Piper Sandler raised their price target on the stock from $264.00 to $275.00. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Virtus Investment Partners traded as high as $263.39 and last traded at $256.48, with a volume of 17453 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $247.61.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on VRTS. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Virtus Investment Partners from $170.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Virtus Investment Partners in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $289.00 price objective on the stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtus Investment Partners

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 44.9% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 171 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 82.1% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 153 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 1,937.5% during the first quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 163 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 550.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 182 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 495.4% during the first quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 387 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the period. 80.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Down 0.4 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.90 and a beta of 1.51. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $237.35 and a 200-day moving average of $216.53.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $6.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.96 by $0.15. Virtus Investment Partners had a net margin of 15.45% and a return on equity of 18.83%. The company had revenue of $214.59 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $196.20 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.17 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 26.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtus Investment Partners Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $1.90 dividend. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. Virtus Investment Partners’s payout ratio is 42.91%.

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.