Bank of New York Mellon Corp Lowers Stock Position in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp decreased its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) by 2.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 86,164 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 2,337 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 1.24% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $14,851,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 39,629 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $6,830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,290 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 55.3% in the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 14,035 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $2,419,000 after purchasing an additional 4,999 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 35.9% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,957 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $510,000 after purchasing an additional 781 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 5,376 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $931,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transcend Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners in the 1st quarter worth about $1,204,000. Institutional investors own 80.52% of the company's stock.

Virtus Investment Partners Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTS traded down $2.72 during trading on Friday, reaching $207.61. The stock had a trading volume of 64,694 shares, compared to its average volume of 53,847. The firm's fifty day moving average is $182.02 and its 200 day moving average is $180.47. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.18 and a 52 week high of $252.82. The stock has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.28 and a beta of 1.44.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The closed-end fund reported $5.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.68 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $217.93 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $201.99 million. Virtus Investment Partners had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 21.56%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.41 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 27.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtus Investment Partners Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.34%. Virtus Investment Partners's payout ratio is 53.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on VRTS. Wall Street Zen upgraded 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 objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $220.00 to $158.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $216.00 to $211.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $182.50.

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.