Gator Capital Management LLC Acquires 2,590 Shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS)

Gator Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) by 14.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,915 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 2,590 shares during the quarter. Virtus Investment Partners accounts for approximately 1.7% of Gator Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Gator Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Virtus Investment Partners were worth $4,613,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VRTS. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 388.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 127 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 170.3% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners in the fourth quarter worth about $75,000. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 395 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd raised its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 57.2% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 610 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. 80.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on VRTS. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $211.00 to $198.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays dropped their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $221.00 to $200.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Virtus Investment Partners from $274.00 to $258.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $225.75.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Down 2.2 %

VRTS stock opened at $158.16 on Friday. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a twelve month low of $151.77 and a twelve month high of $252.82. The firm has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of 9.36 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a 50 day moving average of $182.74 and a 200 day moving average of $208.88. 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.69%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Virtus Investment Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.25%.

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.