AWH Capital L.P. Sells 2,908 Shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. $VRTS

Key Points

• AWH Capital L.P. sold 2,908 shares of Virtus Investment Partners, reducing its holdings by 11.1% to own 23,242 shares.
• Virtus Investment Partners plans to increase its quarterly dividend to $2.40 per share, representing a 4.8% yield with a payout ratio of 46.74%.
• Analysts have varied opinions on Virtus Investment Partners, with recent price targets ranging from $171.00 to $234.00, showing differing ratings from "Buy" to "Sell."

AWH Capital L.P. decreased its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) by 11.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,242 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 2,908 shares during the quarter. Virtus Investment Partners makes up 5.8% of AWH Capital L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. AWH Capital L.P. owned approximately 0.34% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $4,006,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $51,701,000 after purchasing an additional 23,081 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $19,510,000 after purchasing an additional 31,454 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew 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 purchasing an additional 1,535 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 1.1% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 94,674 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $16,318,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 4.8% in the first quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 63,830 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $11,002,000 after purchasing an additional 2,940 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.52% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on VRTS. 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. Morgan Stanley set a $171.00 price target on shares of Virtus Investment Partners and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays upped their price target 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, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $211.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $188.25.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ VRTS traded down $2.52 during trading on Friday, hitting $194.28. 77,949 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 71,113. The business's fifty day moving average is $197.94 and its 200 day moving average is $179.15. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.18 and a fifty-two week high of $252.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.50 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 11.86 and a current ratio of 11.86.

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

Virtus Investment Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $2.40 per share. 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 4.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. Virtus Investment Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.74%.

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.