Fmr LLC Reduces Stake in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS)

FMR LLC lowered its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) by 92.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,580 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 188,850 shares during the period. FMR LLC owned about 0.21% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $3,054,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VRTS. Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 183.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 8,287 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $1,872,000 after buying an additional 5,359 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 255,536 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $53,522,000 after acquiring an additional 16,586 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners during the 2nd quarter valued at about $700,000. Meritage Portfolio Management increased its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 36.1% in the 3rd quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 22,321 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $4,675,000 after purchasing an additional 5,919 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 14.6% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 28,113 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $6,349,000 after purchasing an additional 3,589 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.52% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their target price on Virtus Investment Partners from $212.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $264.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $208.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $244.25.

Virtus Investment Partners Price Performance

NASDAQ VRTS traded down $2.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $239.70. The stock had a trading volume of 34,767 shares, compared to its average volume of 30,094. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.42 and a twelve month high of $263.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 11.86 and a quick ratio of 11.86. The firm's 50 day moving average is $230.83 and its 200 day moving average is $220.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.57 and a beta of 1.46.

Virtus Investment Partners Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.75%. Virtus Investment Partners's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.71%.

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.