Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Holdings in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX - Free Report) by 4.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 546,006 shares of the company's stock after selling 26,239 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.35% of Vertex worth $19,116,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in Vertex during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new stake in Vertex during the 4th quarter valued at about $79,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex by 7,675.0% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,488 shares of the company's stock valued at $132,000 after acquiring an additional 2,456 shares during the period. 70.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Stock Down 3.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:VERX traded down $1.36 during trading on Friday, hitting $34.48. The stock had a trading volume of 1,181,252 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,050,050. Vertex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.26 and a 12 month high of $60.71. The company has a market capitalization of $5.46 billion, a PE ratio of -118.89, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.71. The firm's fifty day moving average is $37.43 and its 200 day moving average is $41.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.02. Vertex had a positive return on equity of 28.14% and a negative net margin of 6.45%. The firm had revenue of $177.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $176.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.15 EPS. The business's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Ryan J. Leib sold 5,755 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total transaction of $218,690.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffrey Westphal sold 3,000,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.45, for a total value of $115,350,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,895 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $303,562.75. This trade represents a 99.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,520,170 shares of company stock worth $134,479,744 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 43.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VERX. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Vertex in a report on Thursday, March 20th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Vertex in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $54.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Vertex in a report on Monday, June 16th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Vertex from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price target on Vertex from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.50.

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.