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 reduced its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) by 65.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,936 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 7,500 shares during the quarter. Virtus Investment Partners makes up about 1.9% of Villanova Investment Management Co LLC's holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC owned about 0.06% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $678,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 9,872 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $2,178,000 after acquiring an additional 654 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 24,921 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $5,497,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 30,246 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $6,672,000 after purchasing an additional 1,876 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 43.3% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 7,802 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $1,721,000 after purchasing an additional 2,357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted 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 worth $849,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.52% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $171.00 target price on Virtus Investment Partners and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Barclays upped their price objective 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. Finally, 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. One equities research 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $188.25.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Down 0.8%

NASDAQ:VRTS opened at $193.90 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 11.86 and a quick ratio of 11.86. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $198.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.48. The company has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a PE ratio of 11.47 and a beta of 1.44. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.18 and a 1-year high of $252.82.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The closed-end fund reported $6.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.17 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $210.53 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 last year, the company posted $6.53 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 27.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtus Investment Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a $2.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $9.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. This is an increase from Virtus Investment Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Virtus Investment Partners's payout ratio is presently 46.74%.

Virtus Investment Partners 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.