Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Trims Stock Position in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,336 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 119 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Virtus Investment Partners were worth $528,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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. Bessemer Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners in the first quarter valued at approximately $57,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 625.6% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 312 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners in the 1st quarter valued at $220,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on VRTS shares. 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. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $267.00 to $264.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective 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. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Virtus Investment Partners from $250.00 to $247.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $231.25.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Up 1.9 %

VRTS stock opened at $211.66 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a PE ratio of 12.75 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a fifty day moving average of $219.34 and a 200-day moving average of $227.09. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $168.78 and a one year high of $263.39.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 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 analysts’ expectations of $204.71 million. As a group, analysts expect 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 $2.25 dividend. This is a boost from Virtus Investment Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.90. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. Virtus Investment Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.