Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC Buys 2,940 Shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. $VRTS

Key Points

• Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 4.8% in the first quarter, now holding approximately 0.92% of the company worth $11 million.
• Virtus Investment Partners announced a dividend increase to $2.40 per share, up from $2.25, representing a yield of 4.8%, with the ex-dividend date set for October 31st.
• The company reported earnings of $6.25 per share for the most recent quarter, surpassing estimates and achieving $210.53 million in revenue.

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) by 4.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 63,830 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after buying an additional 2,940 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.92% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $11,002,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 299,961 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $51,701,000 after buying an additional 23,081 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 38.5% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 107,639 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $18,553,000 after purchasing an additional 1,535 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 94,674 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $16,318,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gator Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 190.7% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. 80.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTS traded down $0.24 during trading on Friday, hitting $200.31. 49,081 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 70,459. The company has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a PE ratio of 11.88 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $195.88 and a 200 day moving average of $178.74. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a 52-week low of $142.18 and a 52-week 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 results 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 firm had revenue of $210.53 million for 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.53 earnings per share. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a $2.40 dividend. This is a boost from Virtus Investment Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. 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 4.8%. Virtus Investment Partners's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.