Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) Shares Down 6.9% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Virtus Investment Partners shares dropped by 6.9%, closing at $198.89 amid reduced trading volume, down 81% from the average session.
• Investment firms have varied outlooks on VRTS, with price targets ranging from $150.00 to $234.00 and multiple ratings including "buy," "hold," and "underweight."
• The company posted a quarterly EPS of $5.73, exceeding analysts' expectations, and declared a quarterly dividend of $2.25 per share scheduled for August 15th.
• Institutional investors control 80.52% of Virtus Investment Partners, with recent increases in holdings from major firms such as American Century Companies and Prudential Financial.

Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 6.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $200.97 and last traded at $198.89. 13,548 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 69,691 shares. The stock had previously closed at $213.65.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on VRTS. Barclays boosted their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $211.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen cut 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded Virtus Investment Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $171.00 price target on Virtus Investment Partners and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Virtus Investment Partners currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $188.25.

Virtus Investment Partners Trading Down 9.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 11.86 and a current ratio of 11.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a PE ratio of 11.46 and a beta of 1.44. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $184.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $180.54.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The closed-end fund reported $5.73 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $217.93 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $201.99 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.41 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 27.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtus Investment Partners Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.65%. Virtus Investment Partners's payout ratio is currently 53.41%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 9,036 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $1,993,000 after purchasing an additional 1,375 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 33.6% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 81,738 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $18,030,000 after purchasing an additional 20,544 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 2,689 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $593,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Virtus Investment Partners in the 4th quarter worth approximately $353,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 44.6% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 16,124 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $3,557,000 after purchasing an additional 4,970 shares in the last quarter. 80.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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