Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. $VRTS Shares Sold by AWH Capital L.P.

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. lessened its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) by 11.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,242 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 2,908 shares during the period. Virtus Investment Partners makes up 5.8% of AWH Capital L.P.'s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. AWH Capital L.P. owned about 0.34% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $4,006,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Magnetar Financial LLC grew its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 181.7% during the first quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 4,978 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $858,000 after acquiring an additional 3,211 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP boosted its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 56.4% in the first quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 1,481 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 534 shares during the period. Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners in the first quarter worth about $383,000. Jump Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 29.6% in the first quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 4,680 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $807,000 after buying an additional 1,068 shares during the period. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 2,940 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.52% of the company's stock.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Up 1.8%

VRTS traded up $3.50 on Thursday, reaching $196.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 84,298 shares, compared to its average volume of 71,073. The stock has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.62 and a beta of 1.44. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.18 and a 1 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. The business's 50 day moving average is $197.72 and its 200 day moving average is $179.16.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.53 earnings per share. As a group, 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $2.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $9.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. This is a boost from Virtus Investment Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Virtus Investment Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VRTS shares. Barclays upped their target price on Virtus Investment Partners from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. 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. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Virtus Investment Partners currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price 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.