Voya Investment Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS)

Voya Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,796 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 167 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Virtus Investment Partners were worth $1,278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 170.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners in the 4th quarter valued at $75,000. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 395 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners during the fourth quarter worth $203,000. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners during the fourth quarter worth $209,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on VRTS shares. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $216.00 to $211.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $220.00 to $158.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $211.00 to $198.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays set a $150.00 target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $179.25.

Virtus Investment Partners Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTS opened at $159.79 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $164.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $199.69. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.18 and a 1 year high of $252.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.45 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 11.86 and a quick ratio of 11.86.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The closed-end fund reported $5.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.68 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $217.93 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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, equities research analysts forecast that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 27.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virtus Investment Partners Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.63%. Virtus Investment Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.41%.

Virtus Investment Partners Company 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.