Squarepoint Ops LLC Buys 668 Shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS)

Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) by 37.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,461 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 668 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC’s holdings in Virtus Investment Partners were worth $556,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VRTS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 2.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 328,067 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $74,092,000 after buying an additional 8,393 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 54,260 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $13,118,000 after acquiring an additional 770 shares in the last quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd bought a new position in Virtus Investment Partners in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,776,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd increased its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 80.2% in the first quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 23,506 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $5,825,000 after acquiring an additional 10,461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meritage Portfolio Management acquired a new position in Virtus Investment Partners during the first quarter valued at approximately $4,145,000. Institutional investors own 80.52% of the company’s stock.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Performance

Virtus Investment Partners stock opened at $204.36 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $205.30 and a 200-day moving average of $221.12. The company has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.31 and a beta of 1.46. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a 1 year low of $168.78 and a 1 year high of $263.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 15.18 and a quick ratio of 15.18.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $6.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.61 by ($0.08). Virtus Investment Partners had a net margin of 12.41% and a return on equity of 20.35%. The business had revenue of $203.02 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $204.71 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 25.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtus Investment Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.40%. 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 45.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VRTS. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $250.00 to $247.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Virtus Investment Partners in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $206.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $267.00 to $264.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $213.00 to $208.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Virtus Investment Partners presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $231.25.

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.