Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) Hits New 1-Year Low - Here's What Happened

Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $179.15 and last traded at $178.51, with a volume of 1903 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $183.76.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on VRTS shares. StockNews.com upgraded Virtus Investment Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Virtus Investment Partners from $274.00 to $258.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Virtus Investment Partners currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $225.75.

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Virtus Investment Partners Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.79 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $198.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $213.32. The company has a current ratio of 11.86, a quick ratio of 11.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Virtus Investment Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. Virtus Investment Partners's payout ratio is 53.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtus Investment Partners

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quarry LP raised its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 388.5% in 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. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 170.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners in the 4th quarter valued at $75,000. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 395 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd raised its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 57.2% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 610 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.52% of the company's stock.

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.