Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 264,884 Shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX - Free Report) by 5.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,918,733 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 264,884 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 3.22% of Vertex worth $113,623,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Comerica Bank acquired a new stake in Vertex during the third quarter worth about $4,763,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Vertex by 85.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 425,192 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,822,000 after purchasing an additional 196,169 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Vertex by 1,195.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 222,675 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,144,000 after purchasing an additional 205,489 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,907,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Vertex by 43.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 23,112 shares of the company's stock valued at $534,000 after purchasing an additional 6,994 shares in the last quarter. 59.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Vertex

In related news, CAO Lisa Butler sold 8,290 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.63, for a total value of $245,632.70. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,407.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider 2020 Irrevocable Trust For Ben sold 30,692 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.22, for a total value of $927,512.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Lisa Butler sold 8,290 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.63, for a total transaction of $245,632.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,407.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 369,915 shares of company stock valued at $11,261,131 over the last three months. 45.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on VERX. Bank of America raised Vertex from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $23.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday, March 1st. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Vertex from $35.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Vertex from $27.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Vertex from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $35.78.

Vertex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VERX traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $31.80. The stock had a trading volume of 405,182 shares, compared to its average volume of 543,377. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $28.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market cap of $4.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -318.00, a PEG ratio of 8.27 and a beta of 0.62. Vertex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.59 and a twelve month high of $35.38.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $154.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $146.44 million. Vertex had a negative net margin of 2.29% and a positive return on equity of 16.15%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.36 earnings per share for the current year.

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.