Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) Sets New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $179.15 and last traded at $178.51, with a volume of 1903 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $183.76.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on VRTS. Barclays dropped their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley dropped 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 research report on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $274.00 to $258.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. 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 presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $225.75.

Virtus Investment Partners Price Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average is $201.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $214.21. 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 $1.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.51 and a beta of 1.47.

Virtus Investment Partners Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.07%. Virtus Investment Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.25%.

Institutional Trading of Virtus Investment Partners

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 1,300 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 388.5% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 127 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 11.9% in the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,174 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 170.3% in 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. Finally, Man Group plc increased its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 29,390 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $6,483,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. 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.