Analysts Set Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) Price Target at $186.25

Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) has received a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the five research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $186.25.

VRTS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $170.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Virtus Investment Partners from $196.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Barclays cut their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $175.00 to $158.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 299,961 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $51,701,000 after acquiring an additional 23,081 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 109.4% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 229,357 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $43,585,000 after acquiring an additional 119,802 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 23.8% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 155,881 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $29,622,000 after purchasing an additional 29,919 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 0.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 154,982 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $28,115,000 after buying an additional 961 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 22.4% in the 2nd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 125,078 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $22,913,000 after acquiring an additional 22,900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.52% of the company’s stock.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Performance

Shares of VRTS stock opened at $165.90 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.82 and a beta of 1.52. The business’s 50 day moving average is $168.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $183.19. The company has a current ratio of 11.86, a quick ratio of 11.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Virtus Investment Partners has a 12-month low of $142.18 and a 12-month high of $240.13.

Virtus Investment Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, January 31st will be given a $2.40 dividend. This represents a $9.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. Virtus Investment Partners’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.28%.

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.