First Trust Advisors LP Sells 21,867 Shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX)

First Trust Advisors LP decreased its holdings in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX - Free Report) by 8.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 236,034 shares of the company's stock after selling 21,867 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.15% of Vertex worth $12,592,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EAM Global Investors LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,939,000. EAM Investors LLC bought a new position in Vertex during the 4th quarter valued at $4,975,000. Jump Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex by 276.5% during the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 23,700 shares of the company's stock worth $1,264,000 after acquiring an additional 17,405 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vertex by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 5,678 shares of the company's stock worth $303,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,693,000. 70.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex news, General Counsel Bryan T.R. Rowland sold 43,228 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.98, for a total value of $1,555,343.44. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 132 shares in the company, valued at $4,749.36. This represents a 99.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 44.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vertex Price Performance

NASDAQ VERX traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $39.91. The company had a trading volume of 512,663 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,002,619. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 222.51, a PEG ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.80. Vertex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.04 and a 52 week high of $60.71. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.28.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.03). Vertex had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 24.92%. The firm had revenue of $178.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $176.90 million. Equities research analysts expect that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Vertex from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Raymond James reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Vertex in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Vertex from $62.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Vertex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $58.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Vertex from $62.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.73.

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.