Swiss National Bank Increases Holdings in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX)

Swiss National Bank raised its stake in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 115,700 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,900 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Vertex were worth $6,173,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vertex by 406.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 34,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,324,000 after purchasing an additional 27,602 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in Vertex by 344.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 4,529 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,000 after buying an additional 3,510 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex by 126.2% in the 3rd 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. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Vertex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $448,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vertex by 5.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 432,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,639,000 after acquiring an additional 23,086 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.32% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Trading Down 1.2 %

NASDAQ VERX opened at $35.71 on Monday. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $27.22 and a one year high of $60.71. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.65 billion, a PE ratio of 198.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.87.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last issued its 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). The business had revenue of $178.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $176.90 million. Vertex had a return on equity of 24.92% and a net margin of 4.73%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vertex

In other Vertex news, major shareholder Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Kyl sold 53,843 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.48, for a total value of $3,041,052.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,229,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,428,435.36. This represents a 4.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, General Counsel Bryan T.R. Rowland sold 43,228 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.98, for a total transaction of $1,555,343.44. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 132 shares in the company, valued at $4,749.36. The trade was a 99.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 44.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VERX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Vertex in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Vertex from $62.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Vertex from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex from $64.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.82.

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.