Fmr LLC Has $153.03 Million Stake in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX)

FMR LLC grew its position in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX - Free Report) by 25.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,868,438 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 580,664 shares during the quarter. FMR LLC owned approximately 1.84% of Vertex worth $153,031,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vertex by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 690,957 shares of the company's stock worth $36,863,000 after purchasing an additional 241,586 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in Vertex by 61.8% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 34,380 shares of the company's stock worth $1,834,000 after acquiring an additional 13,135 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,746 shares of the company's stock worth $456,000 after acquiring an additional 991 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Vertex by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,129,099 shares of the company's stock valued at $113,587,000 after acquiring an additional 439,054 shares during the period. Finally, Scalar Gauge Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,789,000. 70.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VERX traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $39.25. 692,229 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,028,704. Vertex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.22 and a fifty-two week high of $60.71. The firm has a market cap of $6.21 billion, a PE ratio of 218.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $176.90 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Kyl sold 53,843 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.48, for a total value of $3,041,052.64. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,229,257 shares in the company, valued at $69,428,435.36. The trade was a 4.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Bryan T.R. Rowland sold 43,228 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the general counsel now directly owns 132 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,749.36. This represents a 99.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 44.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson cut their price target on Vertex from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Vertex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $58.00 to $31.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vertex in a report on Thursday, March 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Vertex from $64.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Vertex from $62.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.91.

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.