Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Cuts Position in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS)

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) by 36.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,042 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 3,478 shares during the quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC owned about 0.09% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $1,333,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VRTS. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 204.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,119 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $2,957,000 after acquiring an additional 9,488 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners during the 4th quarter valued at $375,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 5,098 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $1,125,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 395 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners during the 4th quarter valued at $75,000. Institutional investors own 80.52% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Virtus Investment Partners Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRTS traded down $0.78 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $176.80. The company had a trading volume of 34,312 shares, compared to its average volume of 40,570. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a 52-week low of $142.18 and a 52-week high of $252.82. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $163.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $196.42. The company has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 10.46 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 11.86, a current ratio of 11.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

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

Virtus Investment Partners Announces Dividend

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

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.