New York State Teachers Retirement System Decreases Stock Holdings in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS)

New York State Teachers Retirement System lessened its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,059 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.09% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $1,269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners during the first quarter worth about $657,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 80.6% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 13,918 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $3,451,000 after acquiring an additional 6,213 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners in the 1st quarter valued at $517,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 80.2% during the 1st quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 23,506 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $5,825,000 after purchasing an additional 10,461 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC grew its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 183.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 8,287 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,872,000 after purchasing an additional 5,359 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.52% of the company’s stock.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Performance

Virtus Investment Partners stock opened at $236.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 15.18 and a current ratio of 15.18. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a one year low of $190.42 and a one year high of $263.39. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $211.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $218.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a PE ratio of 14.39 and a beta of 1.45.

Virtus Investment Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This is a positive change from Virtus Investment Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.90. Virtus Investment Partners’s payout ratio is 54.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on VRTS. Barclays started coverage on Virtus Investment Partners in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $206.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $208.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $233.50.

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.