Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) Releases Earnings Results

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday. The closed-end fund reported $5.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.41, reports. The firm had revenue of $200.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $203.54 million. Virtus Investment Partners had a return on equity of 19.68% and a net margin of 14.02%.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRTS opened at $227.58 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $235.74 and its 200 day moving average is $221.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a PE ratio of 13.71 and a beta of 1.52. Virtus Investment Partners has a fifty-two week low of $165.00 and a fifty-two week high of $263.39.

Virtus Investment Partners Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. Virtus Investment Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.78%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtus Investment Partners

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 29.2% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 221 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 0.6% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 16,000 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $3,232,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 550.0% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 182 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC increased its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 2,432 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $491,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on VRTS shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $211.00 to $224.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. TD Cowen lowered Virtus Investment Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $285.00 to $264.00 in a research note on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $264.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th.

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.