Marshall Wace LLP Sells 3,815 Shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS)

Marshall Wace LLP lessened its stake in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS - Free Report) by 45.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,498 shares of the closed-end fund's stock after selling 3,815 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP owned approximately 0.06% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $1,016,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VRTS. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 54,260 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $13,118,000 after purchasing an additional 770 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners in the first quarter worth $901,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 bought a new position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners during the 1st quarter worth $4,145,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 59.4% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,841 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $952,000 after acquiring an additional 1,432 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.52% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on VRTS shares. Piper Sandler lowered 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. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Virtus Investment Partners from $213.00 to $208.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 29th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $250.00 to $247.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Barclays began 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Virtus Investment Partners currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $231.25.

Virtus Investment Partners Price Performance

Virtus Investment Partners stock traded down $1.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $204.36. 28,859 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 45,147. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $205.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $221.39. The stock has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.31 and a beta of 1.46. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a one year low of $168.78 and a one year high of $263.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 15.18 and a current ratio of 15.18.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS - Get Free Report) 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). The firm had revenue of $203.02 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $204.71 million. Virtus Investment Partners had a net margin of 12.41% and a return on equity of 20.35%. On average, equities analysts predict that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 25.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virtus Investment Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 4.40%. This is a positive change from Virtus Investment Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $1.90. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. Virtus Investment Partners's payout ratio is presently 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.