Villanova Investment Management Co LLC Sells 7,500 Shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. $VRTS

Key Points

• Villanova Investment Management Co LLC reduced its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 65.6%, now holding 3,936 shares after selling 7,500 shares in the first quarter.
• Virtus Investment Partners has recently declared a quarterly dividend of $2.40 per share, up from the previous $2.25, equating to an annualized yield of 5.0%.
• Analysts have varied opinions on Virtus Investment Partners; despite a recent EPS beat, the stock has an average "Reduce" rating with a consensus target price of $188.25.

Villanova Investment Management Co LLC lowered its stake in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) by 65.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,936 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 7,500 shares during the period. Virtus Investment Partners accounts for 1.9% of Villanova Investment Management Co LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC owned 0.06% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $678,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 30.2% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 366 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new position in Virtus Investment Partners in the first quarter valued at approximately $93,000. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in Virtus Investment Partners in the first quarter valued at approximately $219,000. R Squared Ltd boosted its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 311.8% in the first quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 1,400 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 1,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Seizert Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Virtus Investment Partners in the first quarter valued at approximately $253,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.52% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $171.00 price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners and gave the company 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. Barclays raised their price objective 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, Piper Sandler raised their price objective 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. One investment 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 MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $188.25.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Down 1.0%

VRTS stock traded down $2.04 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $192.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 24,786 shares, compared to its average volume of 70,432. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.40 and a beta of 1.44. The company's fifty day moving average price is $198.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $179.76. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.18 and a twelve month high of $252.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 11.86 and a quick ratio of 11.86.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The closed-end fund reported $6.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.17 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $210.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $6.53 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 27.7 EPS for the current year.

Virtus Investment Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a $2.40 dividend. This is an increase from Virtus Investment Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $9.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. Virtus Investment Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.