Vanguard Group Inc. Increases Holdings in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX - Free Report) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,858,981 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 137,666 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 4.40% of Vertex worth $365,927,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VERX. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,516 shares of the company's stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management lifted its position in Vertex by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 15,099 shares of the company's stock worth $806,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Vertex by 27.1% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,668 shares of the company's stock worth $142,000 after buying an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 17,291 shares of the company's stock worth $922,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westover Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Westover Capital Advisors LLC now owns 55,427 shares of the company's stock worth $2,957,000 after acquiring an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. 70.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at Vertex

In other news, major shareholder Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Kyl sold 53,843 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.48, for a total value of $3,041,052.64. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,229,257 shares of the company's stock, valued at $69,428,435.36. This represents a 4.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Bryan T.R. Rowland sold 43,228 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.98, for a total transaction of $1,555,343.44. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 132 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,749.36. This trade represents a 99.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 44.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VERX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Vertex from $64.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Vertex from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Citigroup raised their price target on Vertex from $46.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Vertex from $62.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Vertex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $31.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $49.82.

Vertex Trading Up 2.2 %

Vertex stock traded up $0.77 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $35.75. 1,735,329 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,007,760. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Vertex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.22 and a 52-week high of $60.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 198.61, a P/E/G ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.80. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $41.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.50.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.03). Vertex had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 24.92%. The company had revenue of $178.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $176.90 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.