Picton Mahoney Asset Management Purchases Shares of 2,421 Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS)

Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,421 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $534,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Virtus Investment Partners in the 4th quarter valued at about $659,000. Amundi boosted its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 165.6% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 3,734 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $803,000 after buying an additional 2,328 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 276,880 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $61,074,000 after buying an additional 21,344 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 170.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 71,600 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $15,794,000 after buying an additional 3,224 shares during the last quarter. 80.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on VRTS shares. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $221.00 to $200.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $274.00 to $258.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $211.00 to $198.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $225.75.

Virtus Investment Partners Trading Up 3.1 %

Virtus Investment Partners stock opened at $173.07 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $193.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $212.02. 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 has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 10.24 and a beta of 1.49. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a 12-month low of $167.13 and a 12-month high of $263.39.

Virtus Investment Partners Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.20%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Virtus Investment Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.25%.

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.