Virtus Investment Rewards Shareholders With a 6.7% Dividend Hike

Virtus Investment Partners VRTS announced an annual hike in its quarterly dividend for the eighth consecutive year. The company declared a quarterly cash dividend of $2.40 per share, indicating a nearly 6.7% rise from the prior payout. The dividend will be paid out on Nov. 14, 2025, to its shareholders of record as of Oct. 31.

Prior to this, in August 2024, VRTS raised its dividend by 18% to $2.25 per share. The company has increased its dividend payout six times in the past five years. Considering the closing price of $194.09 on Friday, its current dividend yield is 4.64% compared with the industry’s average of 2.04%.

Dividend Yield

Currently, the company’s payout ratio is 34% of its earnings. This indicates that it retains adequate earnings for reinvestment and future growth initiatives, supported by a disciplined capital strategy that continues to deliver lucrative returns to its shareholders.

George R. Aylward, president and chief executive officer of Virtus Investment, stated, "We remain committed to returning capital responsibly through a disciplined approach that supports investment in growth, share repurchases and maintaining appropriate leverage."

VRTS's Other Capital Distribution Actions

Apart from regular quarterly dividend payouts, VRTS has a share buyback program in place. In December 2010, the company’s board of directors authorized the repurchase of up to 5.7 million of its common shares. Additionally, in May 2025, the board of directors authorized an additional repurchase of 0.75 million shares. As of June 30, 2025, nearly 0.87 million shares remained available for authorization.

The company has a decent liquidity position. As of June 30, 2025, Virtus Investment had total cash and cash equivalents of $172 million. Its total debt stood at $231.3 million, while it has no current debt as of the same date.

Given its decent liquidity profile, VRTS’s capital distribution activities seem sustainable.

VRTS’s Zacks Rank & Price Performance

Over the past year, shares of Virtus Investment have plunged 8.0% against the industry’s growth of 19.2%.

VRTS currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) Rank stocks here.

Other Finance Firms Taking Similar Steps

This month, Zions Bancorporation ZION announced a quarterly dividend of 45 cents per share, marking an increase of 5% from the prior payout. The dividend will be paid on Aug. 21, 2025, to shareholders as of Aug. 14, 2025.

Before this, ZION raised its dividend 5% to 43 cents per share in November 2024. The latest announcement represents the fourth hike in the past five years, with an annualized growth rate of almost 6%.

In July 2025, The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. PNC hiked its quarterly cash dividend by 6% from the prior payout to $1.70 per share. The dividend was paid on Aug. 5, 2025, to shareholders of record as of July 15, 2025.

Prior to this hike, PNC raised its dividend by 3% to $1.60 per share in July 2024. It has a five-year annualized dividend growth rate of 8.49%. At present, its payout ratio is 45% of its earnings.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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