Deutsche Bank AG Purchases 172,171 Shares of Veritex Holdings, Inc. $VBTX

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank AG significantly increased its stake in Veritex Holdings, purchasing an additional 172,171 shares, marking a total ownership of about 0.40% valued at $5,489,000.
• Veritex announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 2.8%, set to be paid on August 21st.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Veritex's stock, with DA Davidson increasing its target from $32 to $39, reflecting positive sentiment surrounding the stock.

Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of Veritex Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:VBTX - Free Report) by 361.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 219,807 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 172,171 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG owned about 0.40% of Veritex worth $5,489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Veritex by 23.8% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 13,823 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $345,000 after buying an additional 2,653 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Veritex during the first quarter worth $1,085,000. Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Veritex during the first quarter worth $381,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in Veritex in the fourth quarter worth $1,057,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB acquired a new stake in Veritex in the first quarter worth $227,000. 88.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Veritex Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Veritex stock traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $32.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 412,404 shares, compared to its average volume of 749,821. Veritex Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $20.37 and a one year high of $33.69. The company has a market capitalization of $1.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.28 and a beta of 1.08. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $29.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96.

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

Veritex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 7th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 7th. Veritex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.90%.

Insider Activity at Veritex

In related news, COO Lavonda Renfro sold 53,411 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.38, for a total transaction of $1,729,448.18. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 60,209 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,949,567.42. This trade represents a 47.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Cara Mcdaniel sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.53, for a total transaction of $325,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 17,372 shares in the company, valued at $565,111.16. The trade was a 36.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 320,699 shares of company stock valued at $10,361,627 over the last three months. Insiders own 4.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Veritex from $30.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $34.00 price target (up from $30.00) on shares of Veritex in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Veritex from $32.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Veritex in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Veritex in a report on Monday, July 14th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Veritex has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $33.25.

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.