Algert Global LLC Grows Stake in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS)

Algert Global LLC grew its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) by 99.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,659 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after purchasing an additional 8,288 shares during the quarter. Algert Global LLC owned about 0.23% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $3,762,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 6,550.0% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 133 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners in the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Bessemer Group Inc. bought a new position in Virtus Investment Partners in the 1st quarter valued at $57,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 625.6% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 312 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 334.1% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 382 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.52% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays initiated coverage on Virtus Investment Partners in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $206.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen cut their target price on Virtus Investment Partners from $250.00 to $247.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $213.00 to $208.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on 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. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $231.25.

Virtus Investment Partners Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of VRTS traded down $4.45 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $205.00. 11,551 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 45,689. 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 1 year low of $168.78 and a 1 year high of $263.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.38 and a beta of 1.46. The business's 50-day moving average price is $208.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $222.48.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $6.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.61 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $203.02 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $204.71 million. Virtus Investment Partners had a return on equity of 20.35% and a net margin of 12.41%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 25.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtus Investment Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a $2.25 dividend. This is a boost from Virtus Investment Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $1.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.39%. Virtus Investment Partners's payout ratio is presently 45.78%.

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.