Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) Price Target Lowered to $180.00 at TD Cowen

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) had its price target lowered by TD Cowen from $196.00 to $180.00 in a research report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the closed-end fund’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $190.00 to $175.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $211.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $189.75.

Virtus Investment Partners Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTS opened at $170.81 on Monday. Virtus Investment Partners has a 52 week low of $142.18 and a 52 week high of $252.82. The company’s 50 day moving average is $191.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $183.14. The company has a current ratio of 11.86, a quick ratio of 11.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a PE ratio of 10.11 and a beta of 1.43.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The closed-end fund reported $6.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.17 by $0.08. Virtus Investment Partners had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 21.56%. The company had revenue of $210.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $191.90 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.53 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Virtus Investment Partners will post 27.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virtus Investment Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $2.40 per share. This represents a $9.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This is an increase from Virtus Investment Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Virtus Investment Partners’s payout ratio is 49.28%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new position in Virtus Investment Partners during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 14,100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Virtus Investment Partners during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 90.4% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 316 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 30.2% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 366 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. 80.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.