Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) Sets New 12-Month Low After Analyst Downgrade

Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday after Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on the stock from $211.00 to $198.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an underweight rating on the stock. Virtus Investment Partners traded as low as $190.11 and last traded at $190.57, with a volume of 4371 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $191.27.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on VRTS. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $221.00 to $200.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut Virtus Investment Partners from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target 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. Two equities 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $225.75.

Institutional Trading of Virtus Investment Partners

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTS. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 388.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 127 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in Virtus Investment Partners in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 170.3% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 138.3% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 317 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners in the fourth quarter valued at $75,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.52% of the company's stock.

Virtus Investment Partners Trading Down 1.4 %

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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $219.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $217.51. The firm has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a PE ratio of 11.16 and a beta of 1.47.

Virtus Investment Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Virtus Investment Partners's payout ratio is currently 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.