Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,339 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,377 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.55% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $8,457,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 388.5% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 127 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Virtus Investment Partners during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $75,000. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 395 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd increased its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 57.2% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 610 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $128,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 269.0% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 690 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $145,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares in the last quarter. 80.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $274.00 to $258.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com downgraded Virtus Investment Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Virtus Investment Partners from $211.00 to $198.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Virtus Investment Partners from $221.00 to $200.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $225.75.

Virtus Investment Partners Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of Virtus Investment Partners stock opened at $187.63 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a PE ratio of 11.10 and a beta of 1.47. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $202.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $214.15. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a 1 year low of $179.38 and a 1 year high of $263.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 11.86 and a quick ratio of 11.86.

Virtus Investment Partners Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.80%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Virtus Investment Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.25%.

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.