Barclays Has Lowered Expectations for Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) Stock Price

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) had its price target decreased by Barclays from $200.00 to $149.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Barclays currently has an underweight rating on the closed-end fund's stock.

VRTS has been the subject of several other reports. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Virtus Investment Partners from $252.00 to $216.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $211.00 to $198.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $220.00 to $158.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $179.00.

Virtus Investment Partners Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRTS traded up $0.98 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $149.03. 32,626 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 40,291. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.82 and a beta of 1.36. Virtus Investment Partners has a 12 month low of $144.13 and a 12 month high of $252.82. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $172.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $204.59.

Virtus Investment Partners Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. Virtus Investment Partners's payout ratio is presently 53.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 126 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $75,000. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 395 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners during the fourth quarter worth $203,000. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners in the 4th quarter valued at $209,000. 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.