Morgan Stanley Increases Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) Price Target to $217.00

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) had its price objective upped by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $208.00 to $217.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “underweight” rating on the closed-end fund’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective suggests a potential downside of 2.97% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Virtus Investment Partners from $250.00 to $247.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Barclays began coverage on Virtus Investment Partners in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $206.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Virtus Investment Partners from $267.00 to $264.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $233.50.

Virtus Investment Partners Price Performance

Virtus Investment Partners stock opened at $223.65 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $206.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $219.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.98 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 15.18 and a current ratio of 15.18. Virtus Investment Partners has a 52-week low of $168.78 and a 52-week high of $263.39.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $6.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.61 by ($0.08). Virtus Investment Partners had a return on equity of 20.35% and a net margin of 12.41%. The company had revenue of $203.02 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $204.71 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Virtus Investment Partners will post 25.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtus Investment Partners

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cetera Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners during the first quarter worth $657,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 80.6% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 13,918 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $3,451,000 after buying an additional 6,213 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners during the first quarter worth $517,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd grew its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 80.2% during the first quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 23,506 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $5,825,000 after buying an additional 10,461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 183.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 8,287 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,872,000 after buying an additional 5,359 shares in the last quarter. 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.