Northern Trust Corp Has $18.55 Million Position in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. $VRTS

Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) by 1.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 107,639 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after purchasing an additional 1,535 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.55% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $18,553,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $51,701,000 after buying an additional 23,081 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $19,510,000 after purchasing an additional 31,454 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 1.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,026 shares during the last quarter. Gator Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 190.7% in the 1st quarter. Gator Capital Management LLC now owns 60,810 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $10,481,000 after purchasing an additional 39,895 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners in the 1st quarter valued at $9,639,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.52% of the company's stock.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTS traded down $2.52 on Friday, hitting $194.28. 77,949 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 71,113. The company's 50 day moving average price is $197.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.17. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a one year low of $142.18 and a one year high of $252.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 11.86 and a current ratio of 11.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.50 and a beta of 1.44.

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 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 company had revenue of $210.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $191.90 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.53 EPS. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given 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 dividend yield of 4.9%. Virtus Investment Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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