Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) Shares Sold by Deutsche Bank AG

Deutsche Bank AG decreased its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) by 23.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,166 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 1,851 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG owned about 0.09% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $1,360,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTS. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 170.3% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners during the 4th quarter worth about $75,000. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 395 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners in the 4th quarter worth about $209,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp acquired a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners in the 4th quarter worth about $249,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.52% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on VRTS shares. Wall Street Zen raised Virtus Investment Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Virtus Investment Partners from $216.00 to $211.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $220.00 to $158.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays set a $150.00 price target on shares of Virtus Investment Partners and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $167.75.

Virtus Investment Partners Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTS traded up $0.35 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $171.57. The company had a trading volume of 40,042 shares, compared to its average volume of 40,597. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.18 and a twelve month high of $252.82. The stock has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.15 and a beta of 1.47. 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $162.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $193.56.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The closed-end fund reported $5.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.68 by $0.05. Virtus Investment Partners had a return on equity of 21.56% and a net margin of 13.42%. The business had revenue of $217.93 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $201.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.41 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 27.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtus Investment Partners Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.25%. Virtus Investment Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.41%.

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.