Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. $VRTS Stock Acquired by International Assets Investment Management LLC

International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) by 3,378.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 80,000 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 77,700 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Virtus Investment Partners were worth $10,586,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,138,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 150.0% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 260 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 4,491.8% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,250 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 2,201 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 51.5% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 409 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners during the second quarter worth approximately $129,000. Institutional investors own 80.52% of the company’s stock.

Virtus Investment Partners Price Performance

Shares of VRTS stock opened at $118.31 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $783.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.00 and a beta of 1.41. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a 12 month low of $116.71 and a 12 month high of $175.66. The company has a quick ratio of 11.86, a current ratio of 11.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $137.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $145.29.

Virtus Investment Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a $2.45 dividend. This is a boost from Virtus Investment Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.3%. Virtus Investment Partners’s payout ratio is 55.84%.

Insider Activity at Virtus Investment Partners

In other news, Director W. Morris sold 435 shares of Virtus Investment Partners stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.59, for a total transaction of $60,286.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Michael Angerthal sold 14,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.34, for a total transaction of $2,505,916.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 63,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,619,563.74. This trade represents a 19.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 6.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $135.00 to $117.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Virtus Investment Partners from $172.00 to $146.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 19th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Virtus Investment Partners from $155.00 to $136.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Virtus Investment Partners from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $129.75.

Virtus Investment Partners Company Profile

Virtus Investment Partners, Inc is an asset management company that provides investment products and services to individual and institutional investors. The company operates as a multi-boutique investment firm, partnering with affiliated and unaffiliated investment managers that offer specialized expertise across a range of asset classes and investment strategies.

Virtus distributes mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, separately managed accounts, closed-end funds and other investment solutions.