Royal Bank of Canada Sells 1,927 Shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS)

Royal Bank of Canada reduced its position in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 111,711 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 1,927 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 1.59% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $24,642,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,700 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $596,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 44.4% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,035 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $449,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc raised its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 29,390 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $6,483,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 45,632 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $10,066,000 after buying an additional 795 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 3,849 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $849,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. 80.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Virtus Investment Partners Trading Up 0.5%

VRTS traded up $0.90 during trading on Friday, reaching $172.33. 11,473 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 40,482. The company has a current ratio of 11.86, a quick ratio of 11.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a one year low of $142.18 and a one year high of $252.82. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $162.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $193.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of 10.20 and a beta of 1.47.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The closed-end fund reported $5.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.68 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $217.93 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $201.99 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 previous year, the firm posted $5.41 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 27.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virtus Investment Partners Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.22%. Virtus Investment Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Virtus Investment Partners from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $216.00 to $211.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays set a $150.00 target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Virtus Investment Partners from $220.00 to $158.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $167.75.

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.