Hilltop National Bank Makes New $26,000 Investment in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. $VRTS

Hilltop National Bank bought a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 141 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $26,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 299,961 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $51,701,000 after purchasing an additional 23,081 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 38.5% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 113,192 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $19,510,000 after purchasing an additional 31,454 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 107,639 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $18,553,000 after purchasing an additional 1,535 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 94,674 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $16,318,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 63,830 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $11,002,000 after purchasing an additional 2,940 shares during the last quarter. 80.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on VRTS shares. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Virtus Investment Partners from $211.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Barclays lifted their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $190.50.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Down 0.7%

VRTS opened at $191.09 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $193.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.32. 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 market cap of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.31 and a beta of 1.43. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a one year low of $142.18 and a one year high of $252.82.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The closed-end fund reported $6.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.17 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $210.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $191.90 million. Virtus Investment Partners had a return on equity of 21.56% and a net margin of 13.42%.During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.53 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 27.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtus Investment Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $2.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This is a positive change from Virtus Investment Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. Virtus Investment Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.74%.

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.