Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) Stock Rating Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Zacks reports.

VRTS has been the topic of a number of other reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $135.00 to $117.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $155.00 to $136.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $135.75.

Virtus Investment Partners Price Performance

Shares of Virtus Investment Partners stock opened at $122.66 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $147.77 and a 200 day moving average of $147.21. Virtus Investment Partners has a 52 week low of $120.18 and a 52 week high of $192.00. The company has a market cap of $812.38 million, a PE ratio of 7.26 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 11.86, a current ratio of 11.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Virtus Investment Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be given a dividend of $2.45 per share. This is an increase from Virtus Investment Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.40. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. Virtus Investment Partners’s payout ratio is 55.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director W. Morris sold 435 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.59, for a total transaction of $60,286.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Angerthal sold 14,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.34, for a total transaction of $2,505,916.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 63,461 shares in the company, valued at $10,619,563.74. This represents a 19.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtus Investment Partners

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 158.6% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 181 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 86.2% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 270 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.52% of the company’s stock.

About Virtus Investment Partners

Virtus Investment Partners, Inc is a U.S.-based asset management company that operates as a multi-manager investment platform. Through a collection of affiliated investment managers, the company provides investment strategies designed to address a range of investor objectives and risk profiles.

Virtus offers mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, separately managed accounts, institutional mandates and alternative investment solutions. Its affiliated managers provide expertise across domestic and international equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies, alternatives and other specialized investment approaches.

The company traces its roots to 1995 and was previously associated with Phoenix Investment Partners before adopting the Virtus Investment Partners name.