Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) Shares Gap Down to $230.75

Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $230.75, but opened at $217.96. Virtus Investment Partners shares last traded at $230.46, with a volume of 1,079 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Virtus Investment Partners from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. TD Cowen downgraded Virtus Investment Partners from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $285.00 to $264.00 in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $211.00 to $224.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $264.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th.

Virtus Investment Partners Trading Down 1.4 %

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $235.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $221.29. The stock has a market cap of $1.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.85 and a beta of 1.52.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $6.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.96 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $214.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $196.20 million. Virtus Investment Partners had a return on equity of 18.83% and a net margin of 15.45%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.17 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 27.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virtus Investment Partners Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $1.90 dividend. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Virtus Investment Partners's payout ratio is 42.91%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtus Investment Partners

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VRTS. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 44.9% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 171 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 550.0% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 182 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Virtus Investment Partners during the fourth quarter worth about $222,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Virtus Investment Partners during the fourth quarter worth about $250,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new position in Virtus Investment Partners during the third quarter worth about $285,000. 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.