Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) Sees Large Volume Increase - Still a Buy?

Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Get Free Report) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday . Approximately 144,694 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 174% from the previous session's volume of 52,723 shares.The stock last traded at $202.52 and had previously closed at $202.02.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on VRTS shares. Morgan Stanley set a $171.00 price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Barclays set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $220.00 to $158.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $216.00 to $211.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Virtus Investment Partners presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $172.50.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a PE ratio of 12.05 and a beta of 1.44. 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 firm's 50-day simple moving average is $177.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $180.70.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The closed-end fund reported $5.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.68 by $0.05. Virtus Investment Partners had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 21.56%. The company had revenue of $217.93 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $201.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.41 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 27.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virtus Investment Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.42%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. Virtus Investment Partners's payout ratio is 53.41%.

Institutional Trading of Virtus Investment Partners

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 14,100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 30.2% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 366 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $93,000. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp acquired a new position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners in the 4th quarter valued at $249,000. 80.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.