Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. $VRTS Shares Sold by Royal Bank of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada has reduced its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 15.2%, now owning 94,775 shares valued at approximately $16.3 million.
• Virtus Investment Partners recently declared a quarterly dividend increase from $2.25 to $2.40, representing a 4.9% dividend yield.
• The company's latest quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $6.25, exceeding analyst expectations and a revenue of $210.53 million, surpassing estimates of $191.90 million.

Royal Bank of Canada reduced its position in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) by 15.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 94,775 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 16,936 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 1.37% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $16,336,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VRTS. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Virtus Investment Partners in the first quarter worth $9,639,000. Gator Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 190.7% in the first quarter. Gator Capital Management LLC now owns 60,810 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $10,481,000 after purchasing an additional 39,895 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 38.5% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 113,192 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $19,510,000 after purchasing an additional 31,454 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 8.3% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 299,961 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $51,701,000 after purchasing an additional 23,081 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 106,104 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $23,404,000 after purchasing an additional 9,793 shares during the last quarter. 80.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on VRTS. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $211.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $171.00 price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Virtus Investment Partners currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $188.25.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRTS traded down $3.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $197.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 69,986 shares, compared to its average volume of 70,835. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.18 and a 1 year 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. The stock has a market cap of $1.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.71 and a beta of 1.44. The business's fifty day moving average is $198.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $179.74.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The closed-end fund reported $6.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.17 by $0.08. Virtus Investment Partners had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 21.56%. The company had revenue of $210.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $191.90 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.53 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 27.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtus Investment Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a $2.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This is a positive change from Virtus Investment Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. Virtus Investment Partners's dividend payout ratio 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.