Virtus Total Return Fund Inc. $ZTR Stake Cut by Absolute Investment Advisers LLC

Key Points

• Absolute Investment Advisers cut its stake in Virtus Total Return Fund (NYSE:ZTR) by 18.8% in Q4, selling 158,619 shares and ending the period with 686,219 shares (about 1.24%) valued at $4.31 million.
• Other institutions such as Yakira Capital, Integrated Capital, Ashton Thomas and Raymond James mostly added to positions, and institutional investors now own about 47.14% of ZTR.
• The fund declared a monthly dividend of $0.05 per share payable May 28 (record/ex-dividend date May 11), implying a yield of roughly 8.9%; ZTR has traded between $5.86 and $7.11 over the past year.

Absolute Investment Advisers LLC cut its position in shares of Virtus Total Return Fund Inc. (NYSE:ZTR - Free Report) by 18.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 686,219 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 158,619 shares during the quarter. Absolute Investment Advisers LLC owned 1.24% of Virtus Total Return Fund worth $4,313,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTR. Yakira Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Virtus Total Return Fund by 0.5% in the third quarter. Yakira Capital Management Inc. now owns 682,714 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $4,404,000 after buying an additional 3,530 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Virtus Total Return Fund by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Capital Management Inc. now owns 43,477 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 3,684 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Virtus Total Return Fund by 4.8% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 109,500 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $674,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Virtus Total Return Fund by 854.9% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,582 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 6,788 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Virtus Total Return Fund by 8.3% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 125,650 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $810,000 after purchasing an additional 9,676 shares during the period. 47.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Virtus Total Return Fund Price Performance

Shares of ZTR opened at $6.72 on Wednesday. Virtus Total Return Fund Inc. has a one year low of $5.86 and a one year high of $7.11. The stock's fifty day moving average is $6.82 and its 200-day moving average is $6.57.

Virtus Total Return Fund Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th.

About Virtus Total Return Fund

Virtus Total Return Fund, Inc NYSE: ZTR is a closed-end management investment company that seeks to provide investors with high total return with moderate income. The fund, which began operations in 2005, trades on the New York Stock Exchange and is sponsored by Virtus Investment Partners. ZTR offers investors access to a diversified mix of fixed-income and equity opportunities within a single vehicle.

To pursue its stated objective, the fund typically allocates across a broad range of asset classes, including corporate debt securities, high-yield bonds, convertible securities, preferred stocks, common stocks and real estate investment trusts (REITs).

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