Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) Trading Down 1.1% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) dropped 1.1% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $218.30 and last traded at $218.30. Approximately 206 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 100% from the average daily volume of 42,473 shares. The stock had previously closed at $220.65.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays increased their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $212.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $264.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $224.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $247.00.

Virtus Investment Partners Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.41 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 11.86 and a quick ratio of 11.86. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $233.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $221.22.

Virtus Investment Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.08%. Virtus Investment Partners’s payout ratio is 54.71%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtus Investment Partners

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 388.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 127 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners in the third quarter worth about $42,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 138.3% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 317 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 57.2% during the third quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 610 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. 80.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Virtus Investment Partners Company Profile

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.