Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,632 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $901,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Virtus Investment Partners at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VRTS. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 550.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 182 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 29.2% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 221 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Virtus Investment Partners in the 4th quarter valued at $222,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Virtus Investment Partners in the 4th quarter valued at $250,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in Virtus Investment Partners in the 3rd quarter valued at $285,000. Institutional investors own 80.52% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Barry M. Mandinach sold 7,886 shares of Virtus Investment Partners stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.00, for a total transaction of $1,845,324.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,905,812. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 6.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on VRTS shares. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $211.00 to $224.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th.

Virtus Investment Partners Price Performance

NASDAQ VRTS opened at $225.38 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.47 and a beta of 1.46. The company’s fifty day moving average is $225.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $232.17. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a 52-week low of $168.78 and a 52-week high of $263.39.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The closed-end fund reported $5.41 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $5.41. Virtus Investment Partners had a net margin of 14.02% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The business had revenue of $200.24 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $203.54 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 26.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virtus Investment Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. Virtus Investment Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.78%.

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.