Natixis Advisors LLC Lowers Position in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX)

Natixis Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) by 10.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,438 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,259 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vertex were worth $1,464,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fairman Group LLC purchased a new position in Vertex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $327,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex during the 4th quarter worth $3,363,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Vertex by 406.9% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 34,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,324,000 after acquiring an additional 27,602 shares in the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in Vertex in the third quarter valued at $840,000. Finally, Triasima Portfolio Management inc. purchased a new stake in Vertex during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,135,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.32% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Kyl sold 53,843 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,229,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,428,435.36. This represents a 4.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Bryan T.R. Rowland sold 43,228 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 132 shares in the company, valued at $4,749.36. This represents a 99.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 44.58% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VERX opened at $35.54 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $45.64 and its 200 day moving average is $46.52. The company has a market cap of $5.62 billion, a PE ratio of 197.44, a P/E/G ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.87. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.22 and a 1 year high of $60.71.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.03). Vertex had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 24.92%. The business had revenue of $178.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $176.90 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on Vertex from $46.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $61.00 target price on shares of Vertex in a research report on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Vertex from $64.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vertex in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.