Shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Get Free Report) saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday . 197,092 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 335% from the previous session's volume of 45,314 shares.The stock last traded at $180.35 and had previously closed at $176.02.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VRTS. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Virtus Investment Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $216.00 to $211.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $167.75.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Virtus Investment Partners
Virtus Investment Partners Stock Performance
The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $184.54. The company has a quick ratio of 11.86, a current ratio of 11.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.67 and a beta of 1.45.
Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The closed-end fund reported $5.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.68 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $217.93 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $201.99 million. Virtus Investment Partners had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 21.56%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.41 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 27.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Virtus Investment Partners Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.99%. Virtus Investment Partners's payout ratio is 53.41%.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtus Investment Partners
A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VRTS. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 30.2% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 366 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 1,300 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 2.7% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 3,952 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $681,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 170.3% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, Man Group plc grew its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 29,390 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $6,483,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. 80.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
About Virtus Investment Partners
(
Get Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
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