Fred Alger Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX)

Fred Alger Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX - Free Report) by 19.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,060,284 shares of the company's stock after selling 483,554 shares during the quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC owned approximately 1.32% of Vertex worth $109,916,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fairman Group LLC bought a new position in Vertex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $327,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Vertex in the 4th quarter valued at $3,363,000. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. bought a new position in shares of Vertex during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,135,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Vertex by 1,100.4% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 572,245 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,530,000 after purchasing an additional 524,572 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex during the fourth quarter valued at about $534,000. Institutional investors own 70.32% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VERX. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Vertex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Vertex in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $54.00 price target for the company. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Vertex from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Vertex in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Vertex from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.73.

Vertex Price Performance

Shares of Vertex stock traded down $0.92 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $37.41. The stock had a trading volume of 1,304,742 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,017,910. The stock's 50 day moving average is $36.78 and its 200 day moving average is $46.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.92 billion, a PE ratio of 207.83, a PEG ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.78. Vertex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.26 and a twelve month high of $60.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $177.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $176.99 million. Vertex had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 24.92%. The company's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.15 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

About Vertex

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.