Fisher Asset Management LLC Sells 866 Shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS)

Fisher Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 70,017 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 866 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned about 0.98% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $16,927,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 0.5% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 104,720 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $21,152,000 after buying an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 5.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 94,366 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $19,061,000 after purchasing an additional 4,600 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 3.3% in the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 89,496 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $18,077,000 after purchasing an additional 2,836 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 59,190 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $11,956,000 after buying an additional 2,048 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. 80.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRTS opened at $226.60 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.78 and a beta of 1.50. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $234.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $223.40. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $165.00 and a fifty-two week high of $263.39.

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The closed-end fund reported $5.41 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $5.41. The company had revenue of $200.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $203.54 million. Virtus Investment Partners had a net margin of 14.02% and a return on equity of 19.68%. On average, research analysts forecast that Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. will post 26.43 EPS for the current year.

Virtus Investment Partners Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $1.90 per share. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. Virtus Investment Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on VRTS shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $275.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $211.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th.

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.