UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Buys 18,954 Shares of Veritex Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:VBTX)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Veritex Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:VBTX - Free Report) by 20.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 109,844 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 18,954 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 0.20% of Veritex worth $2,983,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Veritex by 63.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 117,609 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,095,000 after buying an additional 45,787 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Veritex by 73.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,826 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 1,621 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Veritex in the fourth quarter worth about $509,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Veritex by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 173,323 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,707,000 after buying an additional 27,685 shares during the period. Finally, Salzhauer Michael raised its holdings in Veritex by 47.2% in the 4th quarter. Salzhauer Michael now owns 49,177 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,336,000 after purchasing an additional 15,779 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VBTX. DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of Veritex from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Veritex from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Raymond James downgraded Veritex from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $28.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Veritex in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $30.25.

Veritex Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of VBTX stock traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $25.11. 296,931 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 388,808. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $23.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.60. The stock has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.88 and a beta of 1.02. Veritex Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $19.27 and a 12-month high of $31.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Veritex (NASDAQ:VBTX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.03. Veritex had a net margin of 13.44% and a return on equity of 7.59%. The firm had revenue of $109.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $110.73 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.53 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Veritex Holdings, Inc. will post 2.26 EPS for the current year.

Veritex Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 8th. This is an increase from Veritex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Veritex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.14%.

Veritex Profile

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.