Millennium Management LLC Increases Stake in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS)

Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) by 14.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 28,113 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 3,589 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned 0.39% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $6,349,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners during the 2nd quarter worth $6,776,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 78.1% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 50,952 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $11,508,000 after purchasing an additional 22,344 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management acquired a new position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners during the 1st quarter worth $4,145,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners during the 2nd quarter worth $2,553,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd grew its stake in shares of 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VRTS. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of 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. Piper Sandler lowered 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 research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Virtus Investment Partners in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $206.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $213.00 to $208.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $231.25.

Virtus Investment Partners Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTS opened at $206.12 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.42 and a beta of 1.46. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a 52 week low of $168.78 and a 52 week high of $263.39. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $204.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $220.91. The company has a current ratio of 15.18, a quick ratio of 15.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $6.53 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.61 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $203.02 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $204.71 million. Virtus Investment Partners had a net margin of 12.41% and a return on equity of 20.35%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 25.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virtus Investment Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.37%. This is a positive change from Virtus Investment Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. Virtus Investment Partners’s dividend payout ratio is 45.78%.

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.