Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Makes New Investment in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. $VRTS

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased 1,658 shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. valued at approximately $330,000 during the second quarter.
• Analysts have set new price targets for Virtus, with Barclays increasing theirs from $150 to $190, while Piper Sandler raised it significantly from $211 to $234, indicating varied confidence in the stock.
• Virtus Investment Partners announced a quarterly dividend of $2.40 per share, an increase from the previous dividend, representing an annualized yield of 5.0%.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,658 shares of the closed-end fund's stock, valued at approximately $330,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 38.7% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $1,386,000 after buying an additional 2,245 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 20.8% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,587 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $1,135,000 after buying an additional 1,134 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 57.4% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 15,543 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $2,679,000 after buying an additional 5,671 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 10.8% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 58,788 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $10,133,000 after buying an additional 5,734 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 2.7% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 3,952 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $681,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.52% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VRTS. Barclays increased their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler upped 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $190.50.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of VRTS opened at $191.09 on Wednesday. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.18 and a 52 week high of $252.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.31 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 11.86 and a current ratio of 11.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $193.90 and a 200-day moving average of $181.32.

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 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 company had revenue of $210.53 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $191.90 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.53 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 27.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virtus Investment Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 represents a $9.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This is a positive change from Virtus Investment Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Virtus Investment Partners's dividend payout ratio 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VRTS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.