Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) Sets New 1-Year Low - Time to Sell?

Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $143.98 and last traded at $143.98, with a volume of 10436 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $148.96.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $220.00 to $158.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $200.00 to $149.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $216.00 to $211.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com raised Virtus Investment Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $211.00 to $198.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $179.00.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Performance

The company's 50 day simple moving average is $167.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $202.31. The stock has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of 9.06 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 11.86 and a current ratio of 11.86.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The closed-end fund reported $5.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.68 by $0.05. Virtus Investment Partners had a return on equity of 21.56% and a net margin of 13.42%. The company had revenue of $217.93 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $201.99 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.41 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 27.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtus Investment Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.88%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Virtus Investment Partners's payout ratio is 53.41%.

Institutional Trading of Virtus Investment Partners

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 276,880 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $61,074,000 after acquiring an additional 21,344 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 158,028 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $34,858,000 after purchasing an additional 12,642 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 106,104 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $23,404,000 after buying an additional 9,793 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 33.6% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 81,738 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $18,030,000 after buying an additional 20,544 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 71,600 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $15,794,000 after acquiring an additional 3,224 shares during the period. 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.