Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. $VRTS Holdings Increased by Gator Capital Management LLC

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 lifted its holdings 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 (SEC). The institutional investor owned 60,810 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after acquiring an additional 39,895 shares during the period. Virtus Investment Partners makes up 4.0% of Gator Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Gator Capital Management LLC owned 0.88% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $10,481,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VRTS. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 8.3% in the 1st 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. grew its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 38.5% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 113,192 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $19,510,000 after purchasing an additional 31,454 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 10.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $16,318,000 after acquiring an additional 1,026 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $9,639,000. 80.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Performance

Shares of VRTS stock traded down $3.98 during trading on Friday, reaching $194.43. 87,656 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 69,973. The company has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.50 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 11.86, a quick ratio of 11.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm's 50-day moving average is $192.00 and its 200 day moving average is $178.32. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.18 and a 1 year high of $252.82.

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, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $210.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $191.90 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.53 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 27.7 EPS for the current 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 $2.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $9.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. This is a boost from Virtus Investment Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Virtus Investment Partners's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VRTS. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $211.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen raised 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 target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" 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.