Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) Shares Acquired by MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd.

MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,849 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. owned 0.05% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $849,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 1,300 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 170.3% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 61.2% in 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 during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 29,774 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $6,568,000 after buying an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 24,921 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $5,497,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.52% of the company’s stock.

Virtus Investment Partners Trading Down 1.2%

NASDAQ:VRTS opened at $167.10 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a PE ratio of 9.89 and a beta of 1.47. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a 52-week low of $142.18 and a 52-week high of $252.82. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $162.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $194.37. The company has a quick ratio of 11.86, a current ratio of 11.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

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

Virtus Investment Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.39%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. Virtus Investment Partners’s payout ratio is currently 53.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Virtus Investment Partners from $220.00 to $158.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $216.00 to $211.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Barclays set a $150.00 price target on shares of Virtus Investment Partners and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $167.75.

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.