Quantbot Technologies LP Grows Stock Holdings in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. $VRTS

Key Points

• Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 233.1% in Q1, acquiring an additional 2,806 shares, bringing its total ownership to 4,010 shares valued at approximately $691,000.
• Virtus Investment Partners recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $2.40 per share, with an expected annual yield of 4.8%, reflecting positive financial performance.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Virtus Investment Partners, with price targets ranging from $171 to $234, and a consensus rating of "Reduce" with a target price of $188.25.

Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) by 233.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,010 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after acquiring an additional 2,806 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP owned approximately 0.06% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $691,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VRTS. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners in the fourth quarter valued at about $280,000. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 15,304 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $3,376,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Mariner LLC increased its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 2,953 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $651,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted 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 valued at $2,303,000 after purchasing an additional 6,714 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 6,883 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $1,519,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.52% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VRTS. Piper Sandler lifted 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 target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays lifted their target price 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, 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 analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $188.25.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ VRTS traded up $0.76 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $201.30. The stock had a trading volume of 82,527 shares, compared to its average volume of 70,667. The business's 50 day moving average is $196.41 and its 200-day moving average is $178.80. The company has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.91 and a beta of 1.41. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.18 and a 52 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 earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $210.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $191.90 million. Virtus Investment Partners had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 21.56%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.53 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 27.7 EPS for the current year.

Virtus Investment Partners Increases Dividend

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

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.