Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) Hits New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday. The company traded as low as $116.71 and last traded at $117.28, with a volume of 68,011 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $124.97.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 25th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $172.00 to $146.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 19th. Barclays lowered their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $135.00 to $117.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Virtus Investment Partners from $155.00 to $136.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Virtus Investment Partners from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $129.75.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Down 5.3%

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 has a market capitalization of $783.55 million, a P/E ratio of 7.00 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $137.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $145.29.

Virtus Investment Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a $2.45 dividend. This is a boost from Virtus Investment Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.3%. Virtus Investment Partners’s payout ratio is currently 55.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director W. Morris sold 435 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.59, for a total transaction of $60,286.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael A. Angerthal sold 14,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.34, for a total transaction of $2,505,916.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 63,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,619,563.74. This represents a 19.09% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 6.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtus Investment Partners

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners in the second quarter valued at $151,624,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 2.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 305,115 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $40,990,000 after purchasing an additional 7,987 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC lifted its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 1.1% in the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 77,962 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $11,188,000 after purchasing an additional 864 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 3,378.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 80,000 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $10,586,000 after buying an additional 77,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners during the second quarter worth $10,148,000. Institutional investors own 80.52% of the company’s stock.

About Virtus Investment Partners

Virtus Investment Partners, Inc is an asset management company that provides investment products and services to individual and institutional investors. The company operates as a multi-boutique investment firm, partnering with affiliated and unaffiliated investment managers that offer specialized expertise across a range of asset classes and investment strategies.

Virtus distributes mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, separately managed accounts, closed-end funds and other investment solutions.