AlphaQuest LLC Grows Stock Position 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 increased its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) by 25.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & 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 0.13% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $1,502,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners in the first quarter worth $93,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 138.4% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 4,787 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $819,000 after buying an additional 2,779 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 233.1% in the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 4,010 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $691,000 after buying an additional 2,806 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 1.4% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 107,639 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $18,553,000 after buying an additional 1,535 shares during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC increased its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 6.9% in the first quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 28,787 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $4,962,000 after buying an additional 1,870 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.52% of the company's stock.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Down 1.6%

Virtus Investment Partners stock traded down $3.30 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $198.34. The stock had a trading volume of 28,607 shares, compared to its average volume of 70,391. The company has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.74 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $195.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $178.64. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a one year low of $142.18 and a one year 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.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The closed-end fund reported $6.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.17 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $210.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 previous year, the business posted $6.53 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 27.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtus Investment Partners Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $211.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Barclays boosted 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 report on Wednesday, July 16th. 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 report on Wednesday, July 2nd. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Virtus Investment Partners has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $188.25.

Virtus Investment Partners Company 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.