543,699 Shares in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) Acquired by Brown Capital Management LLC

Brown Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 543,699 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,938,000. Brown Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.35% of Vertex as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VERX. Blue Trust Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex during the second quarter worth approximately $37,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex by 126.2% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 968 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex in the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Amalgamated Bank bought a new position in shares of Vertex during the 2nd quarter valued at $68,000. Institutional investors own 59.10% of the company's stock.

Vertex Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VERX traded up $1.11 during trading on Thursday, reaching $53.42. 704,481 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 788,067. Vertex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.31 and a 52-week high of $53.77. The stock has a market cap of $8.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 296.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.61 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $42.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $170.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $165.70 million. Vertex had a return on equity of 24.92% and a net margin of 4.73%. Vertex's revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.06 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on VERX shares. JMP Securities boosted their price target on shares of Vertex from $47.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Vertex from $50.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Vertex from $43.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Vertex from $41.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Vertex from $42.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $52.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex

In related news, major shareholder Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Kyl sold 40,966 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.16, for a total value of $2,136,786.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,389,134 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $72,457,229.44. This represents a 2.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Jeffrey Westphal sold 1,225,000 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.42, for a total transaction of $48,289,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,895 shares in the company, valued at $311,220.90. This represents a 99.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,330,722 shares of company stock valued at $197,009,011. 44.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vertex Profile

Vertex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides enterprise tax technology solutions for retail trade, wholesale trade, and manufacturing industries in the United States and internationally. The company offers tax determination; compliance and reporting, including workflow management tools, role-based security, and event logging; tax data management; document management; analytics and insights; pre-built integration that includes mapping data fields, and business logic and configurations; industry-specific solutions; and technology specific solutions, such as chain flow accelerator and SAP-specific tools.