43,082 Shares in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) Purchased by Norges Bank

Norges Bank acquired a new position in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 43,082 shares of the closed-end fund's stock, valued at approximately $9,503,000. Norges Bank owned about 0.61% of Virtus Investment Partners as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTS. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 388.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 127 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 170.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners during the fourth quarter worth approximately $75,000. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 395 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Institutional investors own 80.52% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VRTS. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $221.00 to $200.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Virtus Investment Partners from $220.00 to $158.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Virtus Investment Partners from $252.00 to $216.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com raised Virtus Investment Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Virtus Investment Partners from $211.00 to $198.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $193.00.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Performance

VRTS traded up $2.40 on Friday, hitting $150.43. 60,081 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 40,441. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $175.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $206.15. The company has a current ratio of 11.86, a quick ratio of 11.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.13 and a 52 week high of $252.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 8.90 and a beta of 1.36.

Virtus Investment Partners Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.98%. Virtus Investment Partners's payout ratio is 53.25%.

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.