Nuveen LLC Purchases New Position in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. $VRTS

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Virtus Investment Partners, purchasing 55,922 shares valued at approximately $9.6 million, representing 0.81% of the company by the end of the quarter.
• Virtus Investment Partners announced a quarterly dividend of $2.40 per share, which is an increase from its previous dividend of $2.25, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 4.8%.
• Shares of Virtus Investment Partners have demonstrated a 6.0% increase and reported earnings of $6.25 per share in their most recent quarter, surpassing analyst expectations.

Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 55,922 shares of the closed-end fund's stock, valued at approximately $9,639,000. Nuveen LLC owned about 0.81% of Virtus Investment Partners as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VRTS. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners during the 4th quarter worth approximately $280,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 29,774 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $6,568,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 15,304 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $3,376,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC lifted its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 2,953 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $651,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 180.1% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 10,442 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $2,303,000 after acquiring an additional 6,714 shares during the last quarter. 80.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Performance

Shares of VRTS stock traded up $0.76 on Friday, hitting $201.30. The company had a trading volume of 82,527 shares, compared to its average volume of 70,667. The firm has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.91 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $196.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $178.83. 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 twelve month low of $142.18 and a twelve month high of $252.82.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The closed-end fund reported $6.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.17 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $210.53 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.53 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 27.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virtus Investment Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 4.8%. This is a boost from Virtus Investment Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Virtus Investment Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on VRTS shares. Morgan Stanley set a $171.00 price target on Virtus Investment Partners and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $211.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen raised Virtus Investment Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Virtus Investment Partners from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Virtus Investment Partners currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $188.25.

Virtus Investment Partners Company 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.