Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) PT Raised to $275.00 at Piper Sandler

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) had its price target increased by Piper Sandler from $264.00 to $275.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the closed-end fund’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on VRTS. StockNews.com upgraded Virtus Investment Partners from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. TD Cowen began coverage on Virtus Investment Partners in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. They issued an outperform rating and a $289.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Virtus Investment Partners from $170.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a report on Friday, January 19th.

Virtus Investment Partners Trading Up 0.1 %

VRTS opened at $247.98 on Wednesday. Virtus Investment Partners has a 1-year low of $165.00 and a 1-year high of $263.39. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $237.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $217.07. The stock has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a PE ratio of 14.00 and a beta of 1.51.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $6.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.96 by $0.15. Virtus Investment Partners had a return on equity of 18.83% and a net margin of 15.45%. The business had revenue of $214.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $196.20 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.17 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Virtus Investment Partners will post 26.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtus Investment Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $1.90 dividend. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. Virtus Investment Partners’s dividend payout ratio is 42.91%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 128.0% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 12,818 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $3,099,000 after buying an additional 7,197 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 2,562 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $619,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 59,223 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $14,318,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 66.3% during the 4th quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 14,019 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $3,389,000 after purchasing an additional 5,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 45,074 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $10,897,000 after purchasing an additional 11,842 shares in the last quarter. 80.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.