Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Virtus Investment Partners' shares experienced a trading volume of 66,936 on Tuesday, down 7% from the previous day, with the stock currently priced at $190.40.
• Equity analysts have varied opinions on the stock, with Barclays setting a price target of $190.00 and Piper Sandler raising their target to $234.00, amidst mixed ratings ranging from Buy to Sell.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase, raising it from $2.25 to $2.40, providing an annual yield of 5.1% for investors.

Shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Get Free Report) saw strong trading volume on Tuesday . 66,936 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 7% from the previous session's volume of 71,768 shares.The stock last traded at $190.40 and had previously closed at $191.37.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays upped their price objective on Virtus Investment Partners from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $211.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $171.00 price target on shares of Virtus Investment Partners and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $188.25.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Down 1.7%

The company's 50 day moving average price is $195.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $180.79. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.14 and a beta of 1.44.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The closed-end fund reported $6.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.17 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $210.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $191.90 million. Virtus Investment Partners had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 21.56%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.53 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 27.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virtus Investment Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $2.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This is a positive change from Virtus Investment Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. Virtus Investment Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.74%.

Institutional Trading of Virtus Investment Partners

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 299,961 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $51,701,000 after purchasing an additional 23,081 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 154,982 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $28,115,000 after purchasing an additional 961 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 11.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 125,962 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $22,850,000 after acquiring an additional 12,770 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 22.4% in the second quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 125,078 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $22,913,000 after acquiring an additional 22,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 1.4% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 107,639 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $18,553,000 after acquiring an additional 1,535 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.52% of the company's stock.

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.

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