Dark Forest Capital Management LP Has $308,000 Position in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP decreased its stake in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) by 53.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,396 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 1,628 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP's holdings in Virtus Investment Partners were worth $308,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 1,300 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 170.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 395 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 29,774 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $6,568,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. 80.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Virtus Investment Partners Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRTS traded up $2.58 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $159.06. 57,298 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 40,148. The business has a 50 day moving average of $165.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $200.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.41 and a beta of 1.36. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.18 and a 1 year high of $252.82. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The closed-end fund reported $5.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $217.93 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $201.99 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.41 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 27.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virtus Investment Partners Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.66%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Virtus Investment Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $216.00 to $211.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. TD Cowen cut their target price 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 reduced their price objective on Virtus Investment Partners from $211.00 to $198.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays set a $150.00 price target on shares of Virtus Investment Partners and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a 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 given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Virtus Investment Partners presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $179.25.

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.