Chase Investment Counsel Corp Acquires 1,200 Shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS)

Chase Investment Counsel Corp raised its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) by 33.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,800 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp owned 0.07% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $1,160,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRTS. Quadrature Capital Ltd lifted its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 230.7% in the third quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 14,888 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $3,007,000 after purchasing an additional 10,386 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 106.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 22,828 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $5,519,000 after buying an additional 11,792 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 94,366 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $19,061,000 after acquiring an additional 4,600 shares during the period. Mariner LLC increased its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 2,432 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $491,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 550.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 182 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. 80.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Virtus Investment Partners Price Performance

VRTS stock traded down $4.87 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $220.81. 29,056 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 51,463. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.19 and a beta of 1.52. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a 12 month low of $165.00 and a 12 month high of $263.39. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $235.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $221.94.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The closed-end fund reported $5.41 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.41. The business had revenue of $200.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $203.54 million. Virtus Investment Partners had a net margin of 14.02% and a return on equity of 19.68%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 27.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtus Investment Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $1.90 dividend. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Virtus Investment Partners’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $211.00 to $224.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $275.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen lowered shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $285.00 to $264.00 in a research report on Monday, April 8th.

About Virtus Investment Partners

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.