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

Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) shares hit a new 52-week low on Friday . The stock 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Virtus Investment Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Virtus Investment Partners from $274.00 to $258.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on 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 reduced their target price 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Virtus Investment Partners presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $225.75.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Down 1.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 11.86 and a quick ratio of 11.86. The company has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of 10.65 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $207.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $214.75.

Virtus Investment Partners Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $2.25 dividend. 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 payout ratio is presently 53.25%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtus Investment Partners

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 276,880 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $61,074,000 after purchasing an additional 21,344 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 158,028 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $34,858,000 after purchasing an additional 12,642 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 151,328 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $31,702,000 after purchasing an additional 821 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 113,892 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $23,670,000 after purchasing an additional 4,359 shares during the period. Finally, Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. grew its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 110,429 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $23,129,000 after acquiring an additional 12,193 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.