Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Purchases 596,077 Shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX - Free Report) by 233.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 851,127 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 596,077 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 0.55% of Vertex worth $45,409,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VERX. Fairman Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex during the 4th quarter valued at about $327,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Vertex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,363,000. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,135,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vertex by 1,100.4% in the 4th 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 stake in shares of Vertex in the 4th quarter valued at $534,000. 70.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on VERX shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Vertex from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Vertex from $62.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Vertex from $64.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Vertex from $62.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Vertex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.73.

Insider Transactions at Vertex

In related news, General Counsel Bryan T.R. Rowland sold 43,228 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the general counsel now owns 132 shares in the company, valued at $4,749.36. This represents a 99.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 44.58% of the company's stock.

Vertex Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ VERX traded down $0.60 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $39.21. 1,938,886 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,009,908. Vertex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.04 and a 12-month high of $60.71. The firm has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 217.83, a P/E/G ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $36.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

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