Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) Shares Sold by Brevan Howard Capital Management LP

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP lessened its stake in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) by 13.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,109 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 173 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP’s holdings in Virtus Investment Partners were worth $245,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 276,880 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $61,074,000 after purchasing an additional 21,344 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 158,028 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $34,858,000 after buying an additional 12,642 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 106,104 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $23,404,000 after buying an additional 9,793 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 33.6% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 81,738 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $18,030,000 after buying an additional 20,544 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 71,600 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $15,794,000 after acquiring an additional 3,224 shares in the last quarter. 80.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Down 0.9%

VRTS stock opened at $165.01 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a PE ratio of 9.76 and a beta of 1.47. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $163.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $198.27. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.18 and a fifty-two week 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.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The closed-end fund reported $5.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.68 by $0.05. The company 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 quarter last year, the business earned $5.41 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 27.7 EPS for the current year.

Virtus Investment Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.45%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Virtus Investment Partners’s payout ratio is currently 53.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTS has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays set a $150.00 price target on Virtus Investment Partners and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $216.00 to $211.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently 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.