Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) PT Lowered to $264.00 at Piper Sandler

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) had its target price decreased by Piper Sandler from $267.00 to $264.00 in a research report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the closed-end fund’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $211.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $250.00 to $247.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 8th.

Virtus Investment Partners Trading Up 0.5 %

Virtus Investment Partners stock opened at $230.93 on Wednesday. Virtus Investment Partners has a 12-month low of $168.78 and a 12-month high of $263.39. The stock has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.91 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $225.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $232.20.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The closed-end fund reported $5.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $5.41. Virtus Investment Partners had a net margin of 14.02% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The firm had revenue of $200.24 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $203.54 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Virtus Investment Partners will post 26.53 EPS for the current year.

Virtus Investment Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be paid a $1.90 dividend. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. Virtus Investment Partners’s payout ratio is 45.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Barry M. Mandinach sold 7,886 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.00, for a total value of $1,845,324.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,905,812. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 3.6% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 59,190 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $11,956,000 after acquiring an additional 2,048 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 106.9% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 22,828 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $5,519,000 after acquiring an additional 11,792 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 550.0% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Virtus Investment Partners in the fourth quarter worth approximately $822,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Virtus Investment Partners in the fourth quarter worth approximately $222,000. 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.