Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) Issues Earnings Results

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) released its earnings results on Friday. The closed-end fund reported $6.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.81 by $0.11, reports. Virtus Investment Partners had a net margin of 13.43% and a return on equity of 20.76%. The company had revenue of $205.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $207.73 million.

Virtus Investment Partners Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of VRTS opened at $213.74 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $208.26 and its 200 day moving average is $218.62. Virtus Investment Partners has a fifty-two week low of $168.93 and a fifty-two week high of $263.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.51 billion, a PE ratio of 8.56 and a beta of 1.46. 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 Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.21%. This is a boost from Virtus Investment Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.90. Virtus Investment Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on VRTS. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $250.00 to $247.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $208.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Virtus Investment Partners in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $206.00 price objective 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $233.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtus Investment Partners

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cetera Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners in the first quarter worth $657,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 80.6% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 13,918 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $3,451,000 after purchasing an additional 6,213 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners in the first quarter worth $517,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd increased its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 80.2% in the first quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 23,506 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $5,825,000 after purchasing an additional 10,461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC increased its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 183.0% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 8,287 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,872,000 after purchasing an additional 5,359 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.52% of the company’s stock.

Virtus Investment Partners Company 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.