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

Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Piper Sandler lowered their price target on the stock from $172.00 to $146.00. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Virtus Investment Partners traded as low as $117.44 and last traded at $118.0490, with a volume of 152,381 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $122.93.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays decreased their target price on Virtus Investment Partners from $135.00 to $117.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 25th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $155.00 to $136.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Virtus Investment Partners has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $129.75.

Insider Transactions at Virtus Investment Partners

In other news, EVP Michael Angerthal sold 14,975 shares of Virtus Investment Partners stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.34, for a total value of $2,505,916.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 63,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,619,563.74. This trade represents a 19.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director W. Morris sold 435 shares of Virtus Investment Partners stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.59, for a total transaction of $60,286.65. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtus Investment Partners

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 158.6% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 181 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Assetmark Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 86.2% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 270 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.52% of the company’s stock.

Virtus Investment Partners Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $798.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.13 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 11.86, a quick ratio of 11.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $145.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $146.97.

Virtus Investment Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.1%. This is an increase from Virtus Investment Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.40. Virtus Investment Partners’s payout ratio is 55.84%.

About Virtus Investment Partners

Virtus Investment Partners, Inc is a U.S.-based asset management company that operates as a multi-manager investment platform. Through a collection of affiliated investment managers, the company provides investment strategies designed to address a range of investor objectives and risk profiles.

Virtus offers mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, separately managed accounts, institutional mandates and alternative investment solutions. Its affiliated managers provide expertise across domestic and international equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies, alternatives and other specialized investment approaches.

The company traces its roots to 1995 and was previously associated with Phoenix Investment Partners before adopting the Virtus Investment Partners name.