Vulcan Value Partners LLC Cuts Stock Position in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS)

Key Points

• Vulcan Value Partners LLC has reduced its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 12.1% to approximately $14.94 million, now owning 86,700 shares.
• Recent earnings results showed that Virtus Investment Partners reported an EPS of $6.25, exceeding analysts' expectations, and had revenues of $210.53 million for the quarter.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $2.25 per share, representing an annualized yield of 4.7%, with a dividend payout ratio of 43.82%.

Vulcan Value Partners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) by 12.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 86,700 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 11,928 shares during the period. Vulcan Value Partners LLC owned approximately 1.25% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $14,944,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners during the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,503,000. Zacks Investment Management purchased a new stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners during the fourth quarter valued at $3,124,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 158,028 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $34,858,000 after acquiring an additional 12,642 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 106,104 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $23,404,000 after acquiring an additional 9,793 shares during the period. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP raised its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 322.8% in the 4th quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 11,736 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $2,589,000 after acquiring an additional 8,960 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.52% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on VRTS shares. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $211.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Virtus Investment Partners from $220.00 to $158.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. 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. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $188.25.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRTS traded down $3.40 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $189.91. The company had a trading volume of 60,387 shares, compared to its average volume of 70,247. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.18 and a 1-year high of $252.82. The business's 50 day moving average price is $187.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.94. The firm has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a PE ratio of 11.24 and a beta of 1.44.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The closed-end fund reported $6.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $210.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $191.90 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.53 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 27.7 EPS for the current year.

Virtus Investment Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. Virtus Investment Partners's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.82%.

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.