Bridgeway Capital Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. $VRTS

Key Points

• Bridgeway Capital Management LLC has reduced its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 15.7%, owning 21,456 shares valued at approximately $3.7 million.
• Several other institutional investors have increased their holdings in Virtus Investment Partners, with AQR Capital Management boosting its stake by 12.9% and Magnetar Financial increasing theirs by 181.7%.
• Virtus Investment Partners announced a quarterly dividend increase to $2.40 per share, reflecting a 4.9% yield based on their current stock price.

Bridgeway Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) by 15.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,456 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 4,000 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC owned about 0.31% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $3,698,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners in the 1st quarter valued at $9,639,000. Gator Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 190.7% during the first quarter. Gator Capital Management LLC now owns 60,810 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $10,481,000 after purchasing an additional 39,895 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $19,510,000 after purchasing an additional 31,454 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 8.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 106,104 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $23,404,000 after purchasing an additional 9,793 shares during the last quarter. 80.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Virtus Investment Partners Trading Up 4.1%

Virtus Investment Partners stock traded up $8.01 during trading on Thursday, reaching $201.62. 86,027 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 70,840. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $198.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $179.62. The company has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.93 and a beta of 1.44. 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 52-week low of $142.18 and a 52-week high of $252.82.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. Virtus Investment Partners had a return on equity of 21.56% and a net margin of 13.42%.The business had revenue of $210.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $191.90 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.53 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 27.7 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $2.40 per share. This represents a $9.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. This is a boost from Virtus Investment Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. Virtus Investment Partners's payout ratio is presently 46.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on VRTS. Morgan Stanley set a $171.00 price objective on Virtus Investment Partners and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Virtus Investment Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Barclays boosted their price target 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. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Virtus Investment Partners from $211.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $188.25.

About Virtus Investment Partners

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.