Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) Shares Sold by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System cut its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) by 5.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,200 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Virtus Investment Partners were worth $670,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners in the 1st quarter valued at $657,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 80.6% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 13,918 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $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 first quarter valued at $517,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd lifted its position 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, Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 183.0% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 8,287 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,872,000 after acquiring an additional 5,359 shares during the last quarter. 80.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Virtus Investment Partners Trading Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ VRTS opened at $215.45 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 15.18 and a current ratio of 15.18. The firm has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a PE ratio of 13.10 and a beta of 1.45. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a one year low of $190.42 and a one year high of $263.39. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $209.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $218.54.

Virtus Investment Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a $2.25 dividend. 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. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.18%. Virtus Investment Partners’s payout ratio is currently 54.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VRTS. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $208.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $250.00 to $247.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $267.00 to $264.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Virtus Investment Partners in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $206.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $233.50.

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.