Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) Shares Bought by Smartleaf Asset Management LLC

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) by 170.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 200 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Virtus Investment Partners were worth $44,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 71,600 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $15,794,000 after buying an additional 3,224 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 27.2% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,388 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $527,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 46.7% in the fourth quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 3,261 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $719,000 after acquiring an additional 1,038 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 1,300 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 38,339 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $8,457,000 after acquiring an additional 1,377 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on VRTS shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $221.00 to $200.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $211.00 to $198.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com raised Virtus Investment Partners from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $274.00 to $258.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $225.75.

Virtus Investment Partners Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of Virtus Investment Partners stock opened at $176.36 on Wednesday. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $170.14 and a 1 year high of $263.39. The company has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.44 and a beta of 1.49. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $197.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $213.12.

Virtus Investment Partners Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.10%. Virtus Investment Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.25%.

Virtus Investment Partners Company 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.