Millennium Management LLC Increases Stake in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS)

Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) by 14.6% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 28,113 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,589 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC’s holdings in Virtus Investment Partners were worth $6,349,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VRTS. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Virtus Investment Partners in the first quarter valued at approximately $901,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 51.8% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,304 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $571,000 after buying an additional 786 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management purchased a new position in Virtus Investment Partners in the first quarter valued at approximately $4,145,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 59.4% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,841 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $952,000 after buying an additional 1,432 shares during the period. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Virtus Investment Partners in the first quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.52% of the company’s stock.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTS opened at $206.12 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 15.18, a current ratio of 15.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a 52-week low of $168.78 and a 52-week high of $263.39. The company has a 50 day moving average of $204.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $220.91. The company has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.42 and a beta of 1.46.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $6.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.61 by ($0.08). Virtus Investment Partners had a return on equity of 20.35% and a net margin of 12.41%. The company had revenue of $203.02 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $204.71 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 25.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virtus Investment Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.37%. This is an increase from Virtus Investment Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.90. Virtus Investment Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTS has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $213.00 to $208.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 29th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Virtus Investment Partners in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $206.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $267.00 to $264.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $250.00 to $247.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $231.25.

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.