Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Cuts Stake in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. cut its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) by 41.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,271 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 4,465 shares during the quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned approximately 0.09% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $1,383,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VRTS. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 204.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,119 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $2,957,000 after buying an additional 9,488 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners during the fourth quarter valued at about $375,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 5,098 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $1,125,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 395 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners during the fourth quarter valued at about $75,000. 80.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Virtus Investment Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $216.00 to $211.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $220.00 to $158.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $167.75.

Virtus Investment Partners Price Performance

Shares of VRTS stock traded down $0.78 during trading on Monday, hitting $176.80. The company had a trading volume of 34,312 shares, compared to its average volume of 40,570. The company has a quick ratio of 11.86, a current ratio of 11.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock's 50-day moving average is $163.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $196.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.46 and a beta of 1.47. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The closed-end fund reported $5.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.68 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $217.93 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $201.99 million. Virtus Investment Partners had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 21.56%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.41 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 27.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtus Investment Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. Virtus Investment Partners's dividend payout ratio is currently 53.41%.

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.