Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Takes Position in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS)

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Virtus Investment Partners, buying 5,694 shares valued at approximately $981,000, reflecting a 0.08% ownership stake.
• Several analysts have differing views on Virtus Investment Partners, with price targets ranging from $158.00 to $234.00 and an average rating of "Hold" according to MarketBeat.
• Virtus Investment Partners declared a quarterly dividend of $2.25 per share, representing a 4.7% dividend yield, to be paid on August 15th to stockholders of record on July 31st.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,694 shares of the closed-end fund's stock, valued at approximately $981,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned about 0.08% of Virtus Investment Partners as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 30.2% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 366 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc raised its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 29,390 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $6,483,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 3,849 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $849,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC grew its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 4,057 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $895,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.52% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VRTS. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. TD Cowen cut their target price 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. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Piper Sandler raised 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 report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $171.00 price target on Virtus Investment Partners and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $188.25.

Virtus Investment Partners Price Performance

Shares of Virtus Investment Partners stock traded up $0.60 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $192.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,588 shares, compared to its average volume of 69,647. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $187.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $179.40. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.18 and a 12-month high of $252.82. The company has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.38 and a beta of 1.41. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The closed-end fund reported $6.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.17 by $0.08. Virtus Investment Partners had a return on equity of 21.56% and a net margin of 13.42%. The business had revenue of $210.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $191.90 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.53 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 27.7 EPS for the current year.

Virtus Investment Partners Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. Virtus Investment Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.82%.

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.