Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Friday.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on VRTS. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $224.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $264.00 to $274.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $239.00 to $221.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $242.50.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Performance

Shares of VRTS traded down $1.89 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $209.10. The stock had a trading volume of 33,750 shares, compared to its average volume of 33,632. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $230.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $220.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.71 and a beta of 1.48. Virtus Investment Partners has a fifty-two week low of $190.42 and a fifty-two week high of $263.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 11.86 and a current ratio of 11.86.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd acquired a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners during the second quarter worth about $6,776,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 78.1% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 50,952 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $11,508,000 after buying an additional 22,344 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 6.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 255,536 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $53,522,000 after acquiring an additional 16,586 shares during the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. grew its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 12.4% in the third 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 period. Finally, Algert Global LLC grew its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 57.1% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 26,167 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $5,481,000 after acquiring an additional 9,508 shares during the period. 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.

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