Prudential Financial Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS)

Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) by 44.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 16,124 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,970 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Virtus Investment Partners were worth $3,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners in the 4th quarter worth approximately $353,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 2,689 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $593,000 after acquiring an additional 401 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 33.6% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 81,738 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $18,030,000 after acquiring an additional 20,544 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC increased its position in Virtus Investment Partners by 42.8% during the 4th quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the period. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 9,036 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,993,000 after purchasing an additional 1,375 shares in the last quarter. 80.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Performance

Virtus Investment Partners stock opened at $173.59 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $186.13 and its 200 day moving average is $210.00. The company has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.27 and a beta of 1.49. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a twelve month low of $167.13 and a twelve month high of $252.82. The company has a quick ratio of 11.86, a current ratio of 11.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Virtus Investment Partners Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. Virtus Investment Partners’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.25%.

Virtus Investment Partners Company Profile

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.