AQR Capital Management LLC Acquires 22,344 Shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS)

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) by 78.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,952 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after purchasing an additional 22,344 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.71% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $11,508,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,377 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $537,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 1.3% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 5,911 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $1,466,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 6.3% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 2.3% during the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 3,717 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $839,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. 80.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Virtus Investment Partners Price Performance

VRTS traded down $0.18 on Wednesday, reaching $204.95. The stock had a trading volume of 12,092 shares, compared to its average volume of 45,566. The company has a current ratio of 15.18, a quick ratio of 15.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.36 and a beta of 1.46. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $168.78 and a fifty-two week high of $263.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $208.28 and a 200-day moving average of $222.29.

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

Virtus Investment Partners Increases Dividend

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

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.