AQR Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS)

AQR Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 46,395 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 1,973 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.66% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $10,234,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 204.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,119 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $2,957,000 after purchasing an additional 9,488 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 2.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 145,386 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $30,451,000 after acquiring an additional 3,651 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners during the fourth quarter worth $203,000. Private Client Services LLC bought a new position in Virtus Investment Partners during the fourth quarter worth $799,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Virtus Investment Partners in the fourth quarter valued at $375,000. 80.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays set a $150.00 target price on Virtus Investment Partners and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $220.00 to $158.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $216.00 to $211.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Virtus Investment Partners from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Virtus Investment Partners currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $167.75.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTS traded up $6.86 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $166.96. 41,966 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 40,102. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.88 and a beta of 1.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $163.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $198.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 11.86 and a quick ratio of 11.86. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.18 and a 52 week high of $252.82.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The closed-end fund reported $5.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.68 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $217.93 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $201.99 million. Virtus Investment Partners had a return on equity of 21.56% and a net margin of 13.42%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.41 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 27.7 EPS for the current year.

Virtus Investment Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.39%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Virtus Investment Partners's dividend payout ratio is presently 53.41%.

Virtus Investment Partners 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.