Piper Sandler Lowers Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) Price Target to $265.00

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) had its price target cut by Piper Sandler from $275.00 to $265.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the closed-end fund’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com downgraded Virtus Investment Partners from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. TD Cowen downgraded Virtus Investment Partners from a buy rating to a hold rating and reduced their price target for the company from $285.00 to $264.00 in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $211.00 to $224.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th.

Virtus Investment Partners Trading Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ VRTS opened at $223.38 on Monday. Virtus Investment Partners has a 1-year low of $165.00 and a 1-year high of $263.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $234.89 and a 200-day moving average of $222.47. The firm has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a PE ratio of 13.46 and a beta of 1.50.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The closed-end fund reported $5.41 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.41. Virtus Investment Partners had a return on equity of 19.68% and a net margin of 14.02%. The company had revenue of $200.24 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $203.54 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Virtus Investment Partners will post 26.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virtus Investment Partners Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Virtus Investment Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.78%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 44.9% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 171 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 550.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 182 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners during the 1st quarter worth approximately $220,000. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners in the 4th quarter worth approximately $222,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners in the 4th quarter worth approximately $250,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.52% of the company’s stock.

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.