Gator Capital Management LLC Purchases 39,895 Shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. $VRTS

Key Points

• Gator Capital Management LLC significantly increased its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 190.7%, acquiring an additional 39,895 shares, making it the fund's 4th largest investment.
• Virtus Investment Partners recently reported quarterly earnings of $6.25 per share, exceeding analyst expectations, alongside a declared dividend increase from $2.25 to $2.40 per share, giving it a yield of 4.8%.
• As of now, institutional investors own 80.52% of Virtus Investment Partners, reflecting a strong interest among large investment firms.

Gator Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) by 190.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,810 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after buying an additional 39,895 shares during the period. Virtus Investment Partners comprises 4.0% of Gator Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Gator Capital Management LLC owned about 0.88% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $10,481,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 8.3% in 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. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 38.5% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 113,192 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $19,510,000 after buying an additional 31,454 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 9,793 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 94,674 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $16,318,000 after acquiring an additional 1,026 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners in the 1st quarter valued at about $9,639,000. 80.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on VRTS shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Barclays upped their price objective on Virtus Investment Partners from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Virtus Investment Partners from $211.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $171.00 price target on Virtus Investment Partners and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Virtus Investment Partners has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $188.25.

Virtus Investment Partners Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of VRTS traded down $2.2450 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $191.1850. The stock had a trading volume of 30,754 shares, compared to its average volume of 69,627. The company has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.31 and a beta of 1.41. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.18 and a 52 week 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 50-day moving average of $192.65 and a 200 day moving average of $178.38.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The closed-end fund reported $6.25 earnings per share (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 analysts' expectations 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.53 earnings per share. On average, sell-side 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 business 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. This is an increase from Virtus Investment Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $9.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. Virtus Investment Partners's dividend payout ratio is 46.74%.

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.