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

Dark Forest Capital Management LP decreased its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) by 53.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & 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 quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Virtus Investment Partners in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $75,000. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 61.2% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners during the 4th quarter worth $203,000. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners during the 4th quarter valued at $209,000. Institutional investors own 80.52% of the company's stock.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of Virtus Investment Partners stock traded up $3.09 on Thursday, hitting $156.68. The company had a trading volume of 50,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 40,102. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.18 and a twelve month high of $252.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 11.86 and a quick ratio of 11.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $165.76 and a 200-day moving average of $200.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.27 and a beta of 1.36.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The firm had revenue of $217.93 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.41 EPS. Research analysts predict that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 27.7 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. Virtus Investment Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on VRTS shares. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Virtus Investment Partners from $216.00 to $211.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective 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. Barclays set a $150.00 target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $211.00 to $198.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $179.25.

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.