Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) Stake Boosted by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) by 106.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,828 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after acquiring an additional 11,792 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.32% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $5,519,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 44.9% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 171 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 82.1% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 153 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 1,937.5% in the 1st quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 163 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 495.4% during the first quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 387 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 37.2% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 572 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $138,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.52% of the company's stock.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Performance

VRTS stock traded down $6.02 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $241.96. 49,988 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 55,359. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $237.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $217.54. The stock has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.66 and a beta of 1.52. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $165.00 and a fifty-two week high of $263.39.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The closed-end fund reported $6.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.96 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $214.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $196.20 million. Virtus Investment Partners had a return on equity of 18.83% and a net margin of 15.45%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.17 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 26.76 EPS for the current year.

Virtus Investment Partners Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $1.90 dividend. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Virtus Investment Partners's payout ratio is currently 42.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Virtus Investment Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $264.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Virtus Investment Partners in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $289.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $170.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 19th.

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.