Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. $VRTS Shares Purchased by AQR Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 12.9%, now owning approximately 0.76% of the company after acquiring an additional 5,996 shares.
• Virtus Investment Partners has declared a quarterly dividend of $2.40, a rise from the previous $2.25, representing an annualized yield of 5.0%.
• Wall Street analysts have varying ratings on the stock, with a consensus target price of $188.25 and a mix of buy and sell recommendations.

AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) by 12.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,391 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after purchasing an additional 5,996 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.76% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $9,030,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake 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 valued at $51,701,000 after purchasing an additional 23,081 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 38.5% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 113,192 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $19,510,000 after acquiring an additional 31,454 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 1.4% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 107,639 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $18,553,000 after acquiring an additional 1,535 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 1.1% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 94,674 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $16,318,000 after acquiring an additional 1,026 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 4.8% during the first quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 63,830 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $11,002,000 after acquiring an additional 2,940 shares during the last quarter. 80.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler upped their price target 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. Morgan Stanley set a $171.00 price target on Virtus Investment Partners and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays upped their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. 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 given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $188.25.

Virtus Investment Partners Price Performance

VRTS stock opened at $193.90 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 11.86 and a current ratio of 11.86. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.18 and a 1 year high of $252.82. The firm has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.47 and a beta of 1.44. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $198.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $179.48.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. Virtus Investment Partners had a return on equity of 21.56% and a net margin of 13.42%.The business had revenue of $210.53 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $191.90 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.53 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 27.7 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a $2.40 dividend. This is an increase from Virtus Investment Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. Virtus Investment Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.74%.

About Virtus Investment Partners

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.

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