Neuberger Berman Group LLC Sells 271,901 Shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX)

Key Points

• Neuberger Berman Group LLC reduced its stake in Vertex, Inc. by 7.7% after selling 271,901 shares, bringing their total ownership to 3,255,703 shares worth approximately $113.98 million.
• Vertex, Inc. reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.14, with revenue growth of 14.6% year-over-year.
• Several hedge funds have significantly altered their stakes in Vertex, with LPL Financial and Wells Fargo increasing their investments by 23.8% and 61.8% respectively in the fourth quarter.

Neuberger Berman Group LLC decreased its position in shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX - Free Report) by 7.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,255,703 shares of the company's stock after selling 271,901 shares during the quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC owned about 2.06% of Vertex worth $113,982,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VERX. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in Vertex by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 36,877 shares of the company's stock worth $1,967,000 after buying an additional 7,089 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in Vertex by 61.8% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 34,380 shares of the company's stock worth $1,834,000 after buying an additional 13,135 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex during the fourth quarter worth $595,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in Vertex during the fourth quarter worth $8,693,000. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Vertex by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 5,678 shares of the company's stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.32% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jeffrey Westphal sold 3,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.45, for a total transaction of $115,350,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,895 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $303,562.75. This represents a 99.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Ann sold 157,874 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.93, for a total value of $5,672,412.82. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 196,841 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,072,497.13. The trade was a 44.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,405,000 shares of company stock valued at $130,136,108. 43.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Stock Performance

Shares of VERX traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $25.63. The stock had a trading volume of 1,022,881 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,742,326. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Vertex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.45 and a 12 month high of $60.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.06 billion, a PE ratio of -77.66, a PEG ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $33.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.89.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $184.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $184.60 million. Vertex had a positive return on equity of 27.16% and a negative net margin of 7.09%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.15 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VERX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America decreased their price target on Vertex from $42.00 to $34.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Vertex in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Piper Sandler began coverage on Vertex in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on Vertex from $60.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Vertex from $50.00 to $43.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.69.

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.