State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Sells 11,856 Shares of Veritex Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:VBTX)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury reduced its position in Veritex Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:VBTX - Free Report) by 47.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,324 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 11,856 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury's holdings in Veritex were worth $362,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of Veritex by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 11,166 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 751 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Veritex by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 32,140 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $873,000 after buying an additional 1,144 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Veritex by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,803,752 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $76,149,000 after buying an additional 125,189 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Veritex during the 4th quarter worth about $1,057,000. Finally, Salzhauer Michael increased its holdings in shares of Veritex by 47.2% during the 4th quarter. Salzhauer Michael now owns 49,177 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,336,000 after acquiring an additional 15,779 shares during the last quarter. 88.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Veritex Stock Performance

Shares of VBTX stock remained flat at $23.94 during mid-day trading on Friday. 493,066 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 391,839. The firm's fifty day moving average is $23.34 and its 200-day moving average is $26.18. The company has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.28 and a beta of 1.01. Veritex Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.74 and a 52 week high of $31.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Veritex (NASDAQ:VBTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.03. Veritex had a return on equity of 7.59% and a net margin of 13.44%. The company had revenue of $109.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $110.73 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.53 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Veritex Holdings, Inc. will post 2.26 EPS for the current year.

Veritex Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a positive change from Veritex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 8th. Veritex's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. DA Davidson decreased their target price on Veritex from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Veritex from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Hovde Group raised shares of Veritex from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $31.50 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James downgraded Veritex from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $31.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Veritex in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Veritex currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $30.25.

Veritex Profile

Veritex Holdings, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Veritex Community Bank that provides various commercial banking products and services to small and medium-sized businesses, and professionals. The company accepts deposit products include demand, savings, money market, and time accounts. Its loan products include commercial real estate and general commercial, mortgage warehouse loans, residential real estate, construction and land, farmland, paycheck protection program, 1-4 family residential, agricultural, multi-family residential, and consumer loans, as well as purchased receivables financing.