AQR Capital Management LLC Sells 46,036 Shares of Veritex Holdings, Inc. $VBTX

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in Veritex Holdings, Inc. by 10.4%, selling 46,036 shares, and now holds 398,479 shares valued at approximately $9.95 million.
• Several analysts have upgraded their ratings for Veritex, with Piper Sandler maintaining a "neutral" rating, while DA Davidson set a new price target of $39.00 and a "buy" rating.
• Veritex announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, which is set to yield 2.6% annually, with the ex-dividend date on September 16th.

AQR Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Veritex Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:VBTX - Free Report) by 10.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 398,479 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 46,036 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.73% of Veritex worth $9,950,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of Veritex in the 4th quarter valued at $256,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Veritex during the fourth quarter worth about $231,000. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in Veritex by 48.7% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 47,636 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,294,000 after acquiring an additional 15,596 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in Veritex by 93.6% in the fourth quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 17,370 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $472,000 after acquiring an additional 8,398 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Veritex by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 123,292 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,349,000 after acquiring an additional 9,096 shares in the last quarter. 88.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on VBTX shares. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $34.00 price objective (up previously from $30.00) on shares of Veritex in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. William Blair raised shares of Veritex to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Veritex from $32.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Veritex in a report on Monday, July 14th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Veritex from $30.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $33.25.

Veritex Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of VBTX stock opened at $34.19 on Thursday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $31.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Veritex Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.37 and a 1 year high of $34.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.28 and a beta of 1.08.

Veritex (NASDAQ:VBTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $109.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $110.91 million. Veritex had a return on equity of 7.55% and a net margin of 14.83%.During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Veritex Holdings, Inc. will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Veritex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. Veritex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.90%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Arcilia Acosta sold 7,279 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.14, for a total value of $233,947.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 54,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,765,546.62. This trade represents a 11.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Malcolm Holland III sold 125,762 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.26, for a total transaction of $4,057,082.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 294,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,500,828.08. The trade was a 29.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 320,699 shares of company stock worth $10,361,627. Corporate insiders own 4.30% of the company's stock.

About Veritex

Veritex Holdings, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Veritex Community Bank that provides various commercial banking products and services to small and medium-sized businesses, and professionals. The company accepts deposit products include demand, savings, money market, and time accounts. Its loan products include commercial real estate and general commercial, mortgage warehouse loans, residential real estate, construction and land, farmland, paycheck protection program, 1-4 family residential, agricultural, multi-family residential, and consumer loans, as well as purchased receivables financing.

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