Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. $VRTS Shares Sold by Bridgeway Capital Management LLC

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 lowered its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) by 15.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund 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.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VRTS. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 30.2% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 366 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners during the first quarter worth approximately $93,000. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners in the first quarter valued at about $219,000. R Squared Ltd raised its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 311.8% in the 1st quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 1,400 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 1,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Seizert Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Virtus Investment Partners in the 1st quarter worth approximately $253,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.52% of the company's stock.

Virtus Investment Partners Trading Down 0.6%

NASDAQ:VRTS traded down $1.24 on Wednesday, reaching $194.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 36,856 shares, compared to its average volume of 70,615. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.18 and a 12-month high of $252.82. The company has a quick ratio of 11.86, a current ratio of 11.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.43 and a beta of 1.44. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $198.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $179.38.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. Virtus Investment Partners had a return on equity of 21.56% and a net margin of 13.42%.The company had revenue of $210.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $191.90 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.53 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 27.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtus Investment Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a $2.40 dividend. This is an increase from Virtus Investment Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. Virtus Investment Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen raised 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 Virtus Investment Partners and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Virtus Investment Partners from $211.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Virtus Investment Partners currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $188.25.

Virtus Investment Partners 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.