Huber Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. $VRTS

Key Points

• Huber Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 14.0% during the first quarter, now holding approximately 0.12% of the company valued at around $1.48 million.
• Virtus Investment Partners has recently declared a quarterly dividend of $2.40, representing an annualized yield of 4.8%, which is an increase from its previous dividend of $2.25.
• Brokerages have issued mixed ratings on Virtus Investment Partners, with one upgrade to 'buy' and others maintaining 'hold' or 'sell' ratings, leading to a consensus rating of "Reduce" with an average target price of $188.25.

Huber Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) by 14.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,568 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 1,400 shares during the quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC owned 0.12% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $1,477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Signaturefd LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners in the first quarter worth about $93,000. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners during the 1st quarter worth about $219,000. R Squared Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 311.8% during the 1st quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 1,400 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 1,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seizert Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners during the 1st quarter valued at about $253,000. 80.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Virtus Investment Partners Price Performance

Shares of Virtus Investment Partners stock traded up $0.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $201.30. 82,527 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 70,667. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a PE ratio of 11.91 and a beta of 1.41. The business has a 50-day moving average of $196.41 and a 200 day moving average of $178.80. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.18 and a fifty-two 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.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The closed-end fund reported $6.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $210.53 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $191.90 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.53 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 27.7 EPS for the current year.

Virtus Investment Partners Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Virtus Investment Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley set a $171.00 target price on Virtus Investment Partners and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Virtus Investment Partners has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price 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.