Voya Investment Management LLC Purchases 49,430 Shares of Vertex, Inc. $VERX

Key Points

• Voya Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Vertex, Inc. by 41.2% in Q1, owning approximately $5.93 million worth of shares after acquiring an additional 49,430 shares.
• Vertex, Inc. reported $0.15 earnings per share for the most recent quarter, beating analysts' estimates, with revenue of $184.56 million, representing a 14.6% increase year-over-year.
• Bank of America has downgraded Vertex's price target from $42.00 to $34.00 and set a "neutral" rating, while other analysts maintain a "Moderate Buy" average rating with a consensus price target of $43.69.

Voya Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX - Free Report) by 41.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 169,468 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 49,430 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC owned 0.11% of Vertex worth $5,933,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Vertex during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Vertex by 25.7% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,933 shares of the company's stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex by 88.1% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,024 shares of the company's stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 948 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Vertex during the 1st quarter valued at about $97,000. Institutional investors own 70.32% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Ann sold 14,425 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.24, for a total value of $508,337.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 173,074 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,099,127.76. This trade represents a 7.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 43.25% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on VERX. Citigroup raised Vertex from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Vertex from $42.00 to $34.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on shares of Vertex from $60.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. DA Davidson cut shares of Vertex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $43.00 price target on shares of Vertex and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.69.

Vertex Trading Down 1.9%

VERX traded down $0.49 during trading on Friday, hitting $25.15. 2,991,578 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,483,003. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -76.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.32 and a beta of 0.67. Vertex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $23.13 and a 12-month high of $60.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $28.39 and a 200 day moving average of $34.06.

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

Vertex 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.