Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) by 76.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,510 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 14,300 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC owned about 0.06% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $1,019,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VRTS. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Virtus Investment Partners during the fourth quarter worth $822,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 29.2% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 221 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 305.1% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 7,705 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,863,000 after purchasing an additional 5,803 shares during the last quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp lifted its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 33.3% in the 4th quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 4,800 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,160,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Global Investments boosted its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 66.3% during the 4th quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 6,263 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,514,000 after purchasing an additional 2,496 shares during the last quarter. 80.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Virtus Investment Partners Price Performance

VRTS opened at $209.95 on Friday. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a 1 year low of $168.78 and a 1 year high of $263.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 6.36 and a current ratio of 6.36. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $220.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $228.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a PE ratio of 12.65 and a beta of 1.46.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $6.53 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.61 by ($0.08). Virtus Investment Partners had a return on equity of 20.35% and a net margin of 12.41%. The firm had revenue of $203.02 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $204.71 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 25.84 EPS for the current year.

Virtus Investment Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a $2.25 dividend. This is an increase 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.29%. Virtus Investment Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen reduced their price objective 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. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $267.00 to $264.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective 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.

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.