Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday. The stock traded as low as $121.15 and last traded at $122.0770, with a volume of 95,724 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $127.97.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on VRTS. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Virtus Investment Partners from $155.00 to $136.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Virtus Investment Partners from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $135.00 to $117.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $135.75.

Virtus Investment Partners Price Performance

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 $802.18 million, a PE ratio of 7.13 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $149.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $147.33.

Virtus Investment Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a $2.45 dividend. This is an increase from Virtus Investment Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.40. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. Virtus Investment Partners’s payout ratio is currently 55.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Virtus Investment Partners

In other news, EVP Michael Angerthal sold 14,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.34, for a total transaction of $2,505,916.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 63,461 shares in the company, valued at $10,619,563.74. This trade represents a 19.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director W. Morris sold 435 shares of Virtus Investment Partners stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.59, for a total value of $60,286.65. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 6.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners during the second quarter valued at about $151,624,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 2.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 305,115 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $40,990,000 after buying an additional 7,987 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC raised its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 1.1% in the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 77,962 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $11,188,000 after buying an additional 864 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners in the second quarter worth about $10,148,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 38.1% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 52,930 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $7,111,000 after buying an additional 14,600 shares in the last quarter. 80.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Virtus Investment Partners Company Profile

Virtus Investment Partners, Inc is a U.S.-based asset management company that operates as a multi-manager investment platform. Through a collection of affiliated investment managers, the company provides investment strategies designed to address a range of investor objectives and risk profiles.

Virtus offers mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, separately managed accounts, institutional mandates and alternative investment solutions. Its affiliated managers provide expertise across domestic and international equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies, alternatives and other specialized investment approaches.

The company traces its roots to 1995 and was previously associated with Phoenix Investment Partners before adopting the Virtus Investment Partners name.