Legal & General Group Plc Invests $1.97 Million in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. $VRTS

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 13,684 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $1,965,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VRTS. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 3,952 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $681,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 10.8% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 58,788 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $10,133,000 after acquiring an additional 5,734 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 57.4% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 15,543 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,679,000 after acquiring an additional 5,671 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 20.8% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,587 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 26.0% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 11,776 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,136,000 after purchasing an additional 2,429 shares in the last quarter. 80.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on VRTS shares. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Virtus Investment Partners from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Virtus Investment Partners in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $141.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $145.50.

Virtus Investment Partners Price Performance

NASDAQ VRTS opened at $159.18 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 11.86 and a quick ratio of 11.86. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $162.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $147.31. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a 1 year low of $121.61 and a 1 year high of $203.61. The company has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.42 and a beta of 1.35.

Virtus Investment Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a $2.45 dividend. This is a boost from Virtus Investment Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.40. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. Virtus Investment Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.84%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Michael Angerthal sold 14,975 shares of Virtus Investment Partners stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 63,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,619,563.74. The trade was a 19.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 6.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Virtus Investment Partners Company Profile

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ: VRTS) is a publicly traded investment management company headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut. The firm offers a broad range of investment solutions to institutional, high-net-wealth, and retail investors, drawing on the expertise of multiple affiliated investment teams. Since its founding in 1995, Virtus has grown by integrating specialized asset managers and expanding its product lineup, while maintaining a focus on active management across diverse market environments.

The company’s product suite encompasses mutual funds, closed-end funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), collective trusts, UCITS funds, and separately managed accounts.