Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) Shares Bought by Whittier Trust Co.

Whittier Trust Co. grew its stake in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX - Free Report) by 54.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 248,095 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 87,304 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. owned 0.16% of Vertex worth $13,233,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex by 126.2% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 968 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Vertex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. purchased a new position in Vertex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $79,000. 70.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Stock Performance

Shares of VERX stock traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $35.54. The company had a trading volume of 1,074,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 960,923. The stock has a market cap of $5.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 197.44, a PEG ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $45.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.52. Vertex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.22 and a 52-week high of $60.71.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Vertex from $64.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex from $62.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vertex in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Vertex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $58.00 to $31.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Vertex from $62.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $49.82.

Insider Transactions at Vertex

In related news, major shareholder Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Kyl sold 53,843 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 1,229,257 shares of the company's stock, valued at $69,428,435.36. This represents a 4.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, General Counsel Bryan T.R. Rowland sold 43,228 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.98, for a total value of $1,555,343.44. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 44.58% of the company's stock.

About Vertex

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.