Magnetar Financial LLC Raises Holdings in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. $VRTS

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC increased its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 181.7% in Q1, owning about 0.07% of the firm, valued at $858,000 after purchasing more shares.
• Virtus Investment Partners announced a quarterly dividend of $2.40, up from $2.25, with a dividend yield of 4.8% and a payout ratio of 46.74%.
• The company reported earnings of $6.25 per share, exceeding analyst expectations, and had a revenue of $210.53 million for the quarter.

Magnetar Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) by 181.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,978 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after buying an additional 3,211 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC owned 0.07% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $858,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners during the 1st quarter valued at about $9,639,000. Gator Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 190.7% during the first quarter. Gator Capital Management LLC now owns 60,810 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $10,481,000 after buying an additional 39,895 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 38.5% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 113,192 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $19,510,000 after purchasing an additional 31,454 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 8.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake 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 period. 80.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted 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 note on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $171.00 price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, 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. One equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $188.25.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of VRTS stock traded down $2.56 on Friday, hitting $194.24. The stock had a trading volume of 35,542 shares, compared to its average volume of 70,860. The stock's 50 day moving average is $197.72 and its 200-day moving average is $179.16. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a 52-week low of $142.18 and a 52-week high of $252.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.49 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 11.86 and a current ratio of 11.86.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The closed-end fund reported $6.25 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $210.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $191.90 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.53 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 27.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtus Investment Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This is a positive change from Virtus Investment Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. Virtus Investment Partners's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.