Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) Shares Bought by MetLife Investment Management LLC

MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) by 129.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,489 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,743 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex were worth $1,213,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VERX. Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new stake in Vertex in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Vertex by 126.2% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 968 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex during the second quarter worth about $37,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Vertex during the second quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Amalgamated Bank acquired a new position in Vertex in the second quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.10% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ:VERX opened at $56.31 on Friday. Vertex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.31 and a 1 year high of $57.74. The stock has a market cap of $8.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 312.83, a PEG ratio of 10.68 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a fifty day moving average of $46.76 and a 200-day moving average of $39.75. 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) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.02. Vertex had a return on equity of 24.92% and a net margin of 4.73%. The business had revenue of $170.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $165.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.06 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VERX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JMP Securities increased their price objective on Vertex from $47.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Vertex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $35.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Monday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Vertex from $42.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Vertex from $41.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Vertex from $45.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John Richard Stamm sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.81, for a total transaction of $134,525.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,938.35. This represents a 13.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Jeffrey Westphal sold 1,225,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.42, for a total value of $48,289,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,895 shares in the company, valued at $311,220.90. This trade represents a 99.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,202,949 shares of company stock valued at $192,797,340. Corporate insiders own 44.58% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Company 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.