Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) Stock Position Raised by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) by 11.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,516 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Vertex were worth $134,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VERX. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex by 126.2% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 968 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the period. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex during the fourth quarter worth $50,000. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Vertex by 46.1% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC increased its position in Vertex by 344.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 4,529 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 3,510 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex during the 3rd quarter worth about $194,000. 70.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of VERX stock opened at $58.16 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Vertex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.17 and a 1 year high of $60.00. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 323.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.46 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VERX has been the topic of a number of research reports. DA Davidson assumed coverage on Vertex in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Vertex from $46.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex from $43.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Vertex from $42.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.36.

Insider Activity at Vertex

In other news, insider Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Jac sold 8,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.50, for a total transaction of $420,007.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 782,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,743,947. This trade represents a 1.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Jeffrey Westphal sold 2,485,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.90, for a total transaction of $121,516,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $386,065.50. The trade was a 99.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,605,417 shares of company stock worth $180,941,809 over the last three months. 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.