Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Key Points

• Virtus Investment Partners reported a quarterly earnings per share of $6.25, exceeding estimates by $0.08, with a return on equity of 21.56%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $2.25 per share, representing an annual yield of 4.55%.
• Analysts have varied outlooks on the stock, with price targets ranging from $150.00 to $234.00, and a consensus rating of "Hold."

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS - Get Free Report) posted its earnings results on Friday. The closed-end fund reported $6.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.17 by $0.08, RTT News reports. The firm had revenue of $210.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $191.90 million. Virtus Investment Partners had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 21.56%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.53 EPS.

Virtus Investment Partners Price Performance

Virtus Investment Partners stock traded up $4.33 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $199.51. 91,332 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 70,441. The company's fifty day moving average is $186.00 and its 200-day moving average is $179.99. 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 firm has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a PE ratio of 11.81 and a beta of 1.44. Virtus Investment Partners has a 52 week low of $142.18 and a 52 week high of $252.82.

Virtus Investment Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. Virtus Investment Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on VRTS shares. Morgan Stanley set a $171.00 target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $211.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $220.00 to $158.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $188.25.

Institutional Trading of Virtus Investment Partners

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VRTS. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 58,788 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $10,133,000 after purchasing an additional 5,734 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 57.4% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 15,543 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $2,679,000 after purchasing an additional 5,671 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 20.8% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,587 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 3,952 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $681,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.52% of the company's stock.

Virtus Investment Partners Company Profile

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.