Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Barclays began coverage on Virtus Investment Partners in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $206.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $208.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $233.50.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Performance

VRTS opened at $242.58 on Tuesday. Virtus Investment Partners has a 12-month low of $190.42 and a 12-month high of $263.39. The company has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.75 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 15.18, a quick ratio of 15.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company’s 50 day moving average is $212.71 and its 200 day moving average is $218.77.

Virtus Investment Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $2.25 per share. This is a positive change from Virtus Investment Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.90. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. Virtus Investment Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.71%.

Institutional Trading of Virtus Investment Partners

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 6,550.0% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 133 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Virtus Investment Partners during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in Virtus Investment Partners during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Bessemer Group Inc. bought a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners in the 1st quarter worth approximately $57,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 625.6% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 312 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.