Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) Reaches New 1-Year Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday after TD Cowen lowered their price target on the stock from $220.00 to $158.00. TD Cowen currently has a hold rating on the stock. Virtus Investment Partners traded as low as $145.92 and last traded at $147.08, with a volume of 43168 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $150.98.

VRTS has been the subject of a number of other reports. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $252.00 to $216.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $211.00 to $198.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Virtus Investment Partners from $221.00 to $200.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Virtus Investment Partners presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $193.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtus Investment Partners

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTS. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 276,880 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $61,074,000 after acquiring an additional 21,344 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 0.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 106,104 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $23,404,000 after buying an additional 9,793 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 33.6% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 81,738 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $18,030,000 after buying an additional 20,544 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.52% of the company's stock.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Up 1.6 %

The business has a fifty day moving average of $175.29 and a 200 day moving average of $206.15. The stock has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.90 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 11.86 and a quick ratio of 11.86.

Virtus Investment Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.98%. Virtus Investment Partners's payout ratio is presently 53.25%.

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.