Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Sells 2,686 Shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lowered its stake in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) by 78.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 737 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 2,686 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Virtus Investment Partners were worth $127,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 10.6% in the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 5,640 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $972,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 8,517.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,894 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $1,188,000 after purchasing an additional 6,814 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 174.7% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,511 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $774,000 after acquiring an additional 2,233 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 17,329 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $3,822,000 after acquiring an additional 913 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 2,831 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $624,000 after acquiring an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.52% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on VRTS shares. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Virtus Investment Partners from $220.00 to $158.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $216.00 to $211.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Virtus Investment Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley set a $171.00 price target on Virtus Investment Partners and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays set a $150.00 price target on Virtus Investment Partners and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $172.50.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTS traded down $1.61 during trading on Friday, reaching $199.10. 96,027 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 50,259. 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 1-year low of $142.18 and a 1-year high of $252.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $173.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $182.03. The firm has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.78 and a beta of 1.44.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The closed-end fund reported $5.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.68 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $217.93 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.41 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 27.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virtus Investment Partners Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. Virtus Investment Partners's dividend payout ratio is presently 53.41%.

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.