Magnetar Financial LLC Has $858,000 Stock 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 boosted its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) by 181.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,978 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after purchasing an additional 3,211 shares during the quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC owned 0.07% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $858,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Signaturefd LLC increased its position 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 period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $93,000. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners during the 1st quarter worth approximately $219,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Virtus Investment Partners in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $280,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd raised its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 311.8% during the first quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 1,400 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060 shares in the last quarter. 80.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Virtus Investment Partners Trading Up 1.1%

VRTS traded up $2.16 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $194.97. 52,829 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 70,858. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.47 and a beta of 1.44. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $197.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.10. 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, 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 quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The closed-end fund reported $6.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.17 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $210.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 27.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtus Investment Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $2.40 per share. This is a boost from Virtus Investment Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. Virtus Investment Partners's payout ratio is 46.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VRTS. 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. Barclays boosted their target price on Virtus Investment Partners from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised 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. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Virtus Investment Partners currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $188.25.

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.