VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Purchases 8,600 Shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. $VRTS

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems bought 8,600 Virtus Investment Partners shares in the third quarter, worth about $1.14 million and representing roughly 0.13% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 80.52% of the stock.
• Virtus raised its quarterly dividend to $2.45 per share from $2.40, equivalent to $9.80 annually and a stated yield of 7.6%.
• Analyst sentiment is mostly cautious: three analysts rated the stock Sell and one rated it Buy, with an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $129.75.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 8,600 shares of the closed-end fund's stock, valued at approximately $1,138,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned about 0.13% of Virtus Investment Partners at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners in the 2nd quarter worth $151,624,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners during the second quarter valued at about $10,148,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Virtus Investment Partners during the second quarter worth about $4,867,000. AWH Capital L.P. purchased a new position in Virtus Investment Partners during the second quarter worth about $3,550,477. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new position in Virtus Investment Partners during the second quarter worth about $3,255,000. 80.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Virtus Investment Partners Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTS opened at $128.85 on Thursday. The company's 50-day moving average is $135.00 and its 200 day moving average is $144.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 11.86 and a current ratio of 11.86. The company has a market capitalization of $853.35 million, a P/E ratio of 7.62 and a beta of 1.44. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $116.71 and a fifty-two week high of $175.66.

Virtus Investment Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a $2.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. This is a positive change from Virtus Investment Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $2.40. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.6%. Virtus Investment Partners's dividend payout ratio is presently 55.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $172.00 to $146.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Zacks Research downgraded Virtus Investment Partners from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Virtus Investment Partners from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 25th. Barclays reduced their target price on Virtus Investment Partners from $135.00 to $117.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $155.00 to $136.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Virtus Investment Partners currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $129.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director W. Morris sold 435 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.59, for a total transaction of $60,286.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 6.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Virtus Investment Partners Profile

Virtus Investment Partners, Inc is an asset management company that provides investment products and services to individual and institutional investors. The company operates as a multi-boutique investment firm, partnering with affiliated and unaffiliated investment managers that offer specialized expertise across a range of asset classes and investment strategies.

Virtus distributes mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, separately managed accounts, closed-end funds and other investment solutions.

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