Russell Investments Group Ltd. Purchases 3,381 Shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. $VRTS

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. has increased its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 38.8%, acquiring an additional 3,381 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 12,103 shares valued at $2,086,000.
• Several other institutional investors have also boosted their stakes, with the Teacher Retirement System of Texas leading at a 55.3% increase, reflecting strong institutional interest in the company.
• Virtus Investment Partners announced a quarterly dividend of $2.40 per share, up from the previous $2.25, with a 4.9% dividend yield for investors.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) by 38.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,103 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after acquiring an additional 3,381 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.17% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $2,086,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 11.6% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 5,376 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $931,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 55.3% during the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 14,035 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $2,419,000 after purchasing an additional 4,999 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 35.9% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,957 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $510,000 after purchasing an additional 781 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 3,849 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $849,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 8,517.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,894 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $1,188,000 after purchasing an additional 6,814 shares during the last quarter. 80.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $171.00 price target on shares of Virtus Investment Partners and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays raised their price target 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. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $211.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Virtus Investment Partners presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $188.25.

Virtus Investment Partners Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Virtus Investment Partners stock traded up $0.76 on Friday, reaching $201.30. 82,527 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 70,667. The company has a market capitalization 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $196.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.76. 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 (NASDAQ:VRTS - Get Free Report) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $210.53 million for 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $6.53 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 27.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtus Investment Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This is a positive change 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 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.