Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) Price Target Raised to $162.00

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) had its price objective upped by Piper Sandler from $146.00 to $162.00 in a research note released on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the closed-end fund’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Virtus Investment Partners from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $135.00 to $117.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $155.00 to $136.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $133.75.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTS opened at $124.50 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $816.75 million, a PE ratio of 7.37 and a beta of 1.44. 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $130.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $143.47. Virtus Investment Partners has a 12-month low of $116.71 and a 12-month high of $175.66.

Virtus Investment Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a $2.45 dividend. This is an increase from Virtus Investment Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.40. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. Virtus Investment Partners’s payout ratio is currently 60.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Virtus Investment Partners

In other Virtus Investment Partners news, Director W. Morris sold 435 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.59, for a total transaction of $60,286.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 6.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners during the second quarter valued at approximately $151,624,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 305,115 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $40,990,000 after acquiring an additional 7,987 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,215,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 3,378.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 80,000 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $10,586,000 after buying an additional 77,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC lifted its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 77,962 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $11,188,000 after buying an additional 864 shares in the last quarter. 80.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Virtus Investment Partners Company Profile

Virtus Investment Partners is an asset management company that offers investment products and services to individual investors, financial advisers, and institutions. It uses a multi-manager approach, bringing together specialized investment managers with distinct strategies and areas of expertise. Its offerings include mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, separately managed accounts, and alternative investment strategies. The company distributes these products primarily through financial intermediaries and also works with institutional clients.