WCM Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS)

WCM Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 108,927 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 4,965 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC owned approximately 1.55% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $24,035,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,818 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 733 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Virtus Investment Partners during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $75,000. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 395 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 5,098 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,125,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $375,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTS has been the topic of several research 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $211.00 to $198.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently 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 $188.54 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.26 and a beta of 1.47. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. has a 1-year low of $188.06 and a 1-year high of $263.39. The company’s 50-day moving average is $219.40 and its 200 day moving average is $217.51.

Virtus Investment Partners Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Virtus Investment Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.