2,224 Shares in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. $VRTS Acquired by Walleye Capital LLC

Key Points

• Walleye Capital LLC acquired 2,224 shares of Virtus Investment Partners, valued at approximately $383,000, as part of a strategy to strengthen its investment portfolio.
• Analysts have issued mixed ratings on Virtus Investment Partners, with price targets ranging from $171.00 to $234.00, indicating varying levels of confidence in the stock's future performance.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $2.40 per share, reflecting a positive change in its financial outlook and a yield of 4.8% for investors.

Walleye Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 2,224 shares of the closed-end fund's stock, valued at approximately $383,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRTS. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners during the first quarter worth approximately $9,639,000. Gator Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 190.7% during the first quarter. Gator Capital Management LLC now owns 60,810 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $10,481,000 after buying an additional 39,895 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 38.5% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 113,192 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $19,510,000 after purchasing an additional 31,454 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 8.3% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 299,961 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $51,701,000 after purchasing an additional 23,081 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 106,104 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $23,404,000 after purchasing an additional 9,793 shares in the last quarter. 80.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VRTS. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $211.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Barclays upped their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley set a $171.00 price target on Virtus Investment Partners and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Virtus Investment Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Virtus Investment Partners presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $188.25.

Virtus Investment Partners Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTS opened at $198.41 on Wednesday. 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 fifty day moving average price of $197.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $179.00. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.18 and a 1-year high of $252.82. The company has a market cap of $1.34 billion, a PE ratio of 11.74 and a beta of 1.44.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The closed-end fund reported $6.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.17 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $210.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $191.90 million. Virtus Investment Partners had a return on equity of 21.56% and a net margin of 13.42%.During the same period last year, the company earned $6.53 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 27.7 EPS for the current year.

Virtus Investment Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a $2.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This is a positive change from Virtus Investment Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. Virtus Investment Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.74%.

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.

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