AlphaQuest LLC Has $1.50 Million Stock Holdings in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. $VRTS

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC increased its ownership in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. by 25.1%, bringing its total holding to approximately $1.5 million.
• Virtus Investment Partners recently raised its quarterly dividend from $2.25 to $2.40, representing an annual yield of 4.8%.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings on Virtus, with an average target price of $188.25 and ratings ranging from "buy" to "sell".

AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) by 25.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,716 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after purchasing an additional 1,749 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC owned about 0.13% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $1,502,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of VRTS. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 30.2% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 366 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners in the first quarter worth $93,000. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners in the first quarter worth $219,000. R Squared Ltd grew its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 311.8% in the first quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 1,400 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060 shares during the period. Finally, Seizert Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners in the first quarter worth $253,000. 80.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Performance

Shares of VRTS stock opened at $200.3080 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $193.72 and a 200-day moving average of $178.46. The company has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.85 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 11.86 and a quick ratio of 11.86. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a one year low of $142.18 and a one year high of $252.82.

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

Virtus Investment Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a $2.40 dividend. This is an increase from Virtus Investment Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. Virtus Investment Partners's dividend payout ratio 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VRTS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.