Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. $VRTS Shares Purchased by Quantbot Technologies LP

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 increased its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) by 233.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,010 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after buying an additional 2,806 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP owned about 0.06% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $691,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in VRTS. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners during the first quarter worth $9,639,000. Gator Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 190.7% in the first 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. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 38.5% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 113,192 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $19,510,000 after acquiring an additional 31,454 shares in the last quarter. 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 worth $51,701,000 after acquiring an additional 23,081 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 80.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VRTS. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $211.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock 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 stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. 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. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $188.25.

Virtus Investment Partners Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ VRTS traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $200.66. 61,638 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 70,502. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $195.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $178.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.87 and a beta of 1.41. 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, 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The closed-end fund reported $6.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.17 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $210.53 million during 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 last year, the firm earned $6.53 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 27.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtus Investment Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders 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 represents a $9.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. This is an increase from Virtus Investment Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Virtus Investment Partners's payout ratio is 46.74%.

About Virtus Investment Partners

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.