Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Sells 4,349 Shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. $VRTS

Key Points

• Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC reduced its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 72%, selling 4,349 shares, leaving it with only 1,693 shares valued at $292,000.
• Virtus Investment Partners recently reported earnings of $6.25 per share for the quarter, exceeding analysts’ expectations of $6.17, with a revenue of $210.53 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $2.40 per share, reflecting a 4.8% annual yield and raising its annual dividend payout to $9.60.

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC cut its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) by 72.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,693 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 4,349 shares during the quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC's holdings in Virtus Investment Partners were worth $292,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 30.2% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 366 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners in the first quarter worth about $93,000. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners in the first quarter worth about $219,000. R Squared Ltd lifted its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 311.8% in the first quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 1,400 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 1,060 shares during the period. Finally, Seizert Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners in the first quarter worth about $253,000. 80.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $171.00 price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $211.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Virtus Investment Partners has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $188.25.

Virtus Investment Partners Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTS opened at $201.62 on Friday. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.18 and a twelve month high of $252.82. The firm has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.93 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a 50 day moving average of $198.29 and a 200 day moving average of $179.62. The company has a quick ratio of 11.86, a current ratio of 11.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $210.53 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $191.90 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.53 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 27.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtus Investment Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a $2.40 dividend. This represents a $9.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This is an increase from Virtus Investment Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Virtus Investment Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.74%.

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.

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