Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) Shares Sold by California State Teachers Retirement System

California State Teachers Retirement System reduced its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,602 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 116 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.09% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $1,456,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 174.7% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,511 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $774,000 after buying an additional 2,233 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 17,329 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $3,822,000 after purchasing an additional 913 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 2,831 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $624,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 4,057 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $895,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 7,700 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,698,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. 80.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Performance

Shares of Virtus Investment Partners stock opened at $170.68 on Monday. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.18 and a 12 month high of $252.82. The company has a quick ratio of 11.86, a current ratio of 11.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.45. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $161.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $190.07.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The closed-end fund reported $5.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $201.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.41 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 27.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtus Investment Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.27%. Virtus Investment Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VRTS. Barclays set a $150.00 target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Virtus Investment Partners from $220.00 to $158.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen raised 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 Virtus Investment Partners from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.