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

Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $180.18 and last traded at $179.21, with a volume of 16385 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $182.29.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on VRTS. Barclays dropped their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $221.00 to $200.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $211.00 to $198.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective 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 downgraded Virtus Investment Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Virtus Investment Partners currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $225.75.

Virtus Investment Partners Trading Down 1.3 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $208.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $214.75. The stock has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.65 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 11.86, a current ratio of 11.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Virtus Investment Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.00%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Virtus Investment Partners’s payout ratio is currently 53.25%.

Institutional Trading of Virtus Investment Partners

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 592.0% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 9,218 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,931,000 after acquiring an additional 7,886 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 2.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 145,386 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $30,451,000 after purchasing an additional 3,651 shares during the last quarter. Private Client Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners in the fourth quarter valued at about $799,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners during the 3rd quarter worth about $482,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 255,536 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $53,522,000 after buying an additional 16,586 shares during the last quarter. 80.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.