Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) Shares Bought by Meritage Portfolio Management

Meritage Portfolio Management grew its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) by 36.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,321 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after purchasing an additional 5,919 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management owned 0.32% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $4,675,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 328,067 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $74,092,000 after buying an additional 8,393 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 78.1% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 50,952 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $11,508,000 after buying an additional 22,344 shares during the last quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,776,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 14.6% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 28,113 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $6,349,000 after buying an additional 3,589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd lifted its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 80.2% during the 1st quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 23,506 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $5,825,000 after buying an additional 10,461 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.52% of the company's stock.

Virtus Investment Partners Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:VRTS traded up $1.88 on Friday, reaching $236.65. The stock had a trading volume of 37,937 shares, compared to its average volume of 29,360. The company has a market cap of $1.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.39 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 15.18 and a quick ratio of 15.18. The firm's fifty day moving average is $211.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $218.57. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.42 and a 12-month high of $263.39.

Virtus Investment Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.80%. This is a positive change from Virtus Investment Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $1.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. Virtus Investment Partners's dividend payout ratio is 54.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VRTS. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $208.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Virtus Investment Partners in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $206.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $233.50.

Virtus Investment Partners 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.