Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) Shares Sold by Santa Monica Partners LP

Santa Monica Partners LP decreased its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,680 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 396 shares during the quarter. Virtus Investment Partners comprises approximately 0.7% of Santa Monica Partners LP’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Santa Monica Partners LP owned approximately 0.08% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $1,253,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VRTS. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 255,536 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $53,522,000 after buying an additional 16,586 shares during the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. boosted its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 110,429 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $23,129,000 after buying an additional 12,193 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC boosted its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 57.1% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 26,167 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $5,481,000 after buying an additional 9,508 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 204.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,119 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,957,000 after buying an additional 9,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 592.0% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 9,218 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,931,000 after buying an additional 7,886 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.52% of the company’s stock.

Virtus Investment Partners Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTS opened at $186.65 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.26 and a beta of 1.47. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a 1-year low of $181.65 and a 1-year high of $263.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 11.86 and a current ratio of 11.86. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $213.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $215.61.

Virtus Investment Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.82%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Virtus Investment Partners’s payout ratio is 53.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on VRTS. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective 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 lowered shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $221.00 to $200.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $274.00 to $258.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $225.75.

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.