Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) Stake Lessened by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets cut its stake in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) by 9.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,889 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 415 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.06% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $858,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTS. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 204.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,119 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,957,000 after purchasing an additional 9,488 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners in the fourth quarter valued at about $375,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 5,098 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,125,000 after buying an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 395 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Virtus Investment Partners during the 4th quarter worth approximately $75,000. 80.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Performance

Shares of VRTS opened at $171.33 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 11.86 and a current ratio of 11.86. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.18 and a 1 year high of $252.82. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $163.35 and a 200-day moving average of $196.11. The company has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.14 and a beta of 1.47.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The closed-end fund reported $5.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.68 by $0.05. Virtus Investment Partners had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 21.56%. The firm had revenue of $217.93 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $201.99 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.41 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 27.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtus Investment Partners Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.25%. Virtus Investment Partners’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VRTS. Barclays set a $150.00 price objective on Virtus Investment Partners and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $216.00 to $211.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $220.00 to $158.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Virtus Investment Partners from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $167.75.

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.