SG Americas Securities LLC Reduces Stake in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX)

SG Americas Securities LLC lessened its stake in shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX - Free Report) by 75.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,801 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,732 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Vertex were worth $149,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vertex by 126.2% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 968 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in Vertex in the fourth quarter valued at about $50,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Vertex by 191.1% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,259 shares of the company's stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 1,483 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Vertex by 46.1% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,099 shares of the company's stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex by 344.5% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 4,529 shares of the company's stock worth $174,000 after acquiring an additional 3,510 shares during the last quarter. 70.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on VERX shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Vertex from $43.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Vertex from $42.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Raymond James reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Vertex in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Vertex from $42.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, DA Davidson began coverage on Vertex in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $55.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Kyl sold 53,843 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.48, for a total transaction of $3,041,052.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,229,257 shares in the company, valued at $69,428,435.36. The trade was a 4.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Destefano sold 22,275 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.55, for a total transaction of $1,103,726.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 293,246 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,530,339.30. This trade represents a 7.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,111,932 shares of company stock valued at $59,005,301 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 44.58% of the company's stock.

Vertex Trading Down 6.5 %

VERX traded down $3.66 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $52.36. 1,054,746 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 806,961. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.17 billion, a PE ratio of 290.89, a P/E/G ratio of 8.49 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock's 50-day moving average is $54.97 and its 200 day moving average is $46.15. Vertex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.17 and a 12 month high of $60.71.

Vertex Company 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.