Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Sells 129,335 Shares of Vertex, Inc. $VERX

Key Points

• Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada trimmed its Vertex position by 93.8% in Q4, selling 129,335 shares and leaving the fund with 8,578 shares valued at about $170,000.
• Company insiders have been buying: Jeffrey Westphal purchased 150,000 shares and Director Eric C. Andersen bought 40,000 shares, with insiders acquiring a total of 437,740 shares last quarter and now owning 43.25% of the stock.
• Institutional investors increased stakes (institutional ownership ~70.32%), but analysts have trimmed targets and the consensus rating is "Hold" with an average target of $23.07.

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. trimmed its position in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX - Free Report) by 93.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,578 shares of the company's stock after selling 129,335 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.'s holdings in Vertex were worth $170,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vertex by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,387,126 shares of the company's stock valued at $207,917,000 after acquiring an additional 689,143 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Vertex by 231.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,567,902 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,448,000 after acquiring an additional 2,490,097 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Vertex by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,728,504 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,640,000 after acquiring an additional 229,774 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Vertex by 76.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,161,501 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,584,000 after acquiring an additional 937,905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,049,490 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,807,000 after acquiring an additional 340,680 shares during the last quarter. 70.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Stock Performance

Shares of Vertex stock opened at $12.35 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $12.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.99. Vertex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $10.59 and a 1-year high of $42.44. The company has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 308.83, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.80.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.17. Vertex had a return on equity of 24.70% and a net margin of 0.96%.The firm had revenue of $194.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $194.33 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.15 EPS. The business's revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup lowered their target price on Vertex from $22.00 to $15.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Citizens Jmp lowered their target price on Vertex from $37.00 to $25.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Vertex from $20.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $16.00 target price on Vertex in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Vertex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $16.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $23.07.

Insider Transactions at Vertex

In other Vertex news, insider Jeffrey Westphal purchased 150,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $12.53 per share, for a total transaction of $1,879,500.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 397,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,983,682.20. The trade was a 60.55% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Eric C. Andersen purchased 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $12.91 per share, with a total value of $516,400.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 150,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,940,902.31. This trade represents a 36.25% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 437,740 shares of company stock valued at $5,636,339. Company insiders own 43.25% of the company's stock.

Vertex Profile

Vertex Energy, Inc NASDAQ: VERX is a specialty refiner and marketer of transportation fuels and petrochemical feedstocks in the United States. The company collects and processes a variety of waste petroleum products, including used motor oil and industrial lubricants, which it converts into ultra-low-sulfur diesel, asphalt, and other refined products. By leveraging proprietary re-refining technologies and strategic feedstock sourcing, Vertex Energy aims to deliver cost-effective, lower-carbon fuel solutions to wholesale and retail customers across the country.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Vertex operates a network of refining and blending facilities in key regions, including the Central, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic markets.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.